


The Likeness between Skeletons and Chaos

by Larentia_ray09



Series: One skeleton falling through reality=Unnecessary chaos. [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Horrortale (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Swapfell (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Underfell (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Underswap (Undertale), Amnesia, And he'll literally kill you if you spill it, Bara Sans (Undertale), Black is like a grumpy old man, Black loves coffee, Blue and Black are the older brothers in this, Burgerpants is a good(ish) friend, Cuddles, Edge is a tsundere...like really tsundere, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Horrortale Papyrus (Undertale), Horrortale Sans (Undertale), M/M, Memory Loss, Papyrus - Freeform, Reader Has Secrets, Reader Is A Skeleton, Reader x Everyone, Red is edgy but he'll come around, Reverse Harem, Sans - Freeform, Sans is trying to be a good bro, Stretch is chill, Swapfell Papyrus (Undertale), Swapfell Purple, Swapfell Sans (Undertale), This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things, Underfell Papyrus (Undertale), Underfell Sans (Undertale), Underswap Papyrus (Undertale), Underswap Sans (Undertale), Undertale AU, and I wouldn't have him any less!, just saying..., monstaers are boig peeps, reader is tall, skeletons everywhere, so bring the short jokes in, the reader isn't tall for a monster, undertale - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:13:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 29,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23770633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Larentia_ray09/pseuds/Larentia_ray09
Summary: The last memories you had of being perfectly human were with you walking down the street before being pulled away from life. The next moment…you were floating through a pit of darkness before being sucked-by some unknown source of what you dare call magic-into a world that you can’t wrap your head around. For one, a single skeleton succeeded in ‘smooshing’ five realities together into one big superthing.And two…you were pretty sure you weren’t always made of bone.
Relationships: Black (Swapfell Sans)/coffee (this is a legit ship), Papyrus (Undertale)/Reader, Sans (Undertale)/Reader
Series: One skeleton falling through reality=Unnecessary chaos. [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1712428
Comments: 136
Kudos: 540





	1. Dying, loosing your memories and listening to apathetic cats aren't a part of your to-do list

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Skeleton Squatters and the Landlady](https://archiveofourown.org/works/9816140) by [Tyrant_Tortoise](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tyrant_Tortoise/pseuds/Tyrant_Tortoise). 
  * Inspired by [Housemates](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11529231) by [YinYanChan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/YinYanChan/pseuds/YinYanChan). 



> Hi, so this is my first reverse-harem fic, so please bear with me! I know i have another work to deal with, but I felt compelled to write this one. A heads up; I'm pretty new to the field of writing for one and two, my English isn't the best since it is not my first language. Even so, please, give this work a chance!!!
> 
> Updates will be funky till i can get a routine going.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You wake up a skeleton.

“…stem….…nd.”

“Sh……...ing…”

“Losin…….ot…….ood”

“…..tals………?”

“……………gone…”

*

You can’t always trust the predictability of life. If anything, it is unexpected, sometimes beautiful and humorous and romantic. Sometimes it’s full of love and sunshine and calm seas. But then in other days, months even years, it is cruel and relentless. It twists and turns and shoves you off trail and messes with your head. It can drive you to a point where you wish it could end.

But life is only gifted once. You never have another chance again. No take backs, no do-overs. Life can be bittersweet that way, which is why so many wish to make the most out of it, in spite of it’s unpredictability. Some just don’t like it and tread with caution. You had always pondered over it and decided that you were one of them.

Cautious. Insecure. But life isn’t the only one that was predictably unpredictable.

_Death_ was.

Sometimes it is expected when you are ill or you’ve done something colossally wrong. But sometimes, it isn’t. You can be young, walking down the street but unfortunate enough to be caught in the crossfire of a bullet. Death wasn’t biased. Death touched all. It was expected and unexpected. Either welcomed with open arms or unwanted. It could be painful or peaceful. Above all, death was mysterious. What lay beyond it? No one knew.

And then, there was _you_ …

You didn’t know what happened, the last hazy details of your memory showing a blurry street and a flash of light, then…nothing. And now…? You had no clue where you were. A stretch of darkness that seemed to go on forever, void of light. You could barely see anything in front of you, let alone _yourself_.

“This is either a really surreal dream or I’ve finally lost it.” You decided, as you floated down the darkness, hanging by some invisible thread. A faint glow, green, you decided had lit up when you had spoken, but you could still barely see anything. Grimacing, you willed your body to move, but it was as if you lost all feeling; the numbness spread throughout your being. You couldn’t move.

It didn’t take long to realize you _didn’t have a body_ either.

After that rather cheerful epiphany, you realized you couldn’t even react. It was as if this place was sucking away _every drop_ of emotion you had, replacing it with hopeless apathy. So you just continued to float around, chilling out all alone in the darkness. You couldn’t even recall how you got here, but you had a sneaking suspicion that the place you dropped out of was well lit.

And there was a street, you believed. You couldn’t recall any more than that, but there was certainly a street and you were walking beside it on a sidewalk. You saw yourself on one of the glass windows of what used to be a store so you knew you were human too. Then you took a turn and you felt something ram into you, followed by inexplicable pain and then…

_Oh_.

Did you _die_?

You gave up on trying to find answers and went on to wondering how long you were going to be here. _Days_? _Months_? _Years_? That alone wasn’t a very pleasant thought. But then again, you were already dead, so you doubt you could die again of hunger.

“Hello, is anyone here to get me out of this place?” You called out again and the glow erupted, this time a little brighter. You could feel something keening around you and if you still had a face, you would have frowned at the absurdity of the situation before it finally clicked.

Was it _you_ glowing?

You didn’t know per say, but it was the most likely observation. The green glow didn’t abate though and it shone brighter and brighter with each passing second. The keening grew louder and you found yourself suddenly zipping through the darkness as if influenced by some magnetic pull. The air crackling with static that buzzed around you.

_And you felt it_.

It reacted with…whatever the glow was and the weight on you intensified. Before you knew it, you were no longer floating, but _falling_ into the darkness.

You could have screamed. But you were too disoriented.

After an eternity of dropping, you saw a crack of light at the end and suddenly, you were no longer hurtling through the darkness but thwacking through pine trees before finally landing down on the grassy bed below. Blinking for a couple of seconds, you groaned, pain shooting through your system.

“Ow.” You whimpered, propping your hands to push you up, but one of your digits slipped over some moss and you fell back again. Your vision was hazy and unused to the light that streamed through the trees. _Where were you_? _How did you get here_? There were too many questions to count and you lay motionless for a couple of seconds before a crack sounded out and you tensed.

Your mind was suddenly plunged into one of those scenarios. Run or fight? Well, you could get to your feet and swing your lethal fists at the interloper, giving them a piece of your mind should they turn out dangerous.

The problem was, you didn’t have lethal fists.

Running was out of the option since your body hurt like shit. You could just stay still, breathing quickening as the bushes rustled and out popped-

…A _cat_.

~~Okay, _what the FUCK?!_~~

No wait, something akin to a cat. Whoever this guy was, this cat-person, he was certainly not human with all that brown-orange fur. He didn’t seem to have noticed you yet, grumbling to himself as he kicked some dirt up and lit a cigarette. Taking a deep breath in, he looked forward listlessly for a few seconds before yellow smoke curled out and wafted above him.

You willed yourself not to move or speak, hoping he wouldn’t spot you. You didn’t know what to do except for that at the moment. From what you could assess from the guy, he seemed beat up and pissed for some reason and the red and yellow uniform with the logo of a restaurant was all you needed to realize why.

Retail jobs, you learned were the most energy leeching and mind breaking jobs one could have, so the inkling of pity you felt for the strange being kindled in your chest.

But then his eyes swept across him and landed on you. You tensed and he froze before rolling his eyes and walking up to you, the pissy expression on his face growing. You lifted your upper body and tried to slide away, but he was soon standing over you, tapping a bare foot.

“Okay, what’s the deal?” he asked and you blinked.

“What?” you croaked out stupidly, _might I add_ , with shock and mild relief. He wasn’t some man-eating creature, so you could rest easy. The two of you stared at each other for a moment before disbelief coated his features and the cat guy threw his arms up.

“I don’t know? The fact that you’re fucking watching me while lying down like some total creep?” he elaborated, furry face stretching into a forced grin as he held up his hands. The fingers twitched painfully and you grimaced. “Can’t I ask for five minutes of alone time?”

His gaze landed on you and he huffed, initial behavior dying away immediately. “Get up, weirdo.” He said, fatigue and caffeine overdoses hinting in his voice. “Seriously, you lying on the floor like that is totally unhygienic.”

“Well, you’re not wearing any shoes.” You pointed out sassily, getting to your feet while keeping your gaze on him. “And excuse me, I’m a weirdo? _You’re a cat_.” Your arms lifted from your sides to emphasize your point.

“Well duh.” He said, shrugging. He took another breath in of his cigarette and blew out some more yellow smoke; only closer, you realized it was more gold. You wondered what kind of brand it was. “Well, heads up buddy, it’s not like you’re lacking any bizarre features. In case you noticed, every monster is either sickeningly furry or feathery or something else altogether.”

He eyed you for a moment. “You related to the comedian? You’re from his lot so you might be.”

Remember that disbelief you felt that sapped away for a moment? Well it’s back again, hitting you like a ton of bricks. You frowned, then laughed. _This was some sort of joke…right_? This guy didn’t strike you as someone with a sense of humor.

“Monsters? Oh yeah, good one.” You stated flippantly. “I’m human. I think it should be obvious.” You gestured to yourself and the cat-man’s eye twitched before a forced literal shit-eating grin stretched across his features.

“When was the last time you looked in the mirror?” he gritted out and you blinked, instinctively reaching up to touch your face. You froze, eye widening while you stared at your trembling hand silently.

_Bone_.

It was made entirely of white bone.

_What the actual flying donkey fuck?!_ Your thoughts screeched as you pulled up the sleeve of your dark grey hoodie, revealing white bone beneath it. You knew their names; the radius and ulna, bones that constitute your arm thanks to your anatomy and science classes (and Chuck, the skeleton hanging in the science lab).

Your fingertips grazed across them. They were hard, but not brittle probably to resist shocks. They were also thicker than your regular human bones. Your phalanges made way to your head. Your skull.

The cat-man just watched you the whole while unimpressed, probably mourning and feeding his hate for everything around him while you felt your facial features. They were more malleable than the bones on your arms. Breathing in heavily, you stepped back, static rising up and crackling nervously.

_You were a skeleton_.

_Level of confusion: 120%_.

“You done acting like you don’t know what planet you’re on?” He asked suddenly and you flinched. _Oh right, he was still there_. You nodded stiffly before looking down at your feet with growing helplessness. What was going on? How did you turn into a skeleton? Is this the afterlife or something?

“H-hey, just a quick question…okay, questions” You stuttered out and a look akin to lethargy crossed his face. He crossed his arms, bracing himself and you began to ramble them out. “Where am I? Am I actually a skeleton? How did I get here? I wasn’t always one! What’s going on? And why the hell is there so much static in the air?”

Silence ensued for a few moments before the cat-man spoke up.

“I didn’t catch most of what you said.” He stated drily. “But I’ll answer the only one I heard. You’re in Ebott City’s central park. I usually come here during my breaks.” He stuffed his hands into his pockets. Okay what?! You screeched internally, confusion flooding into your being and you began to pace around out of nervousness.

“Ebott? I’ve never heard of that place!” you sputtered out. “This isn’t my home! This isn’t…” You looked at your companion helplessly. “Please, you have to help me. I have no clue what’s going on here. I don’t even know where I’m from!”

The cat-man just stared at you, like you had grown an extra head or something. Then his very being twitched unnaturally like he was trying to hold back on whatever he was going to say. Letting out a shaky breath, he pulled out his cigar.

“No.” he stated flatly, then turned to leave. Your eye- _eye sockets_ widened and you scurried after him, stumbling a few times when a quick bout of dizziness overtook you.

You couldn’t make it here. Not without some help.

“W-wait! P-please!” you pleaded, trying to keep up with his strides. He was a head taller than you but his legs were long, allowing him to cross distance quicker. The cat-man sagged, head tilted to the side like he was expecting you to burst out like that while you struggled to get used to this body and the sudden lightness you experienced.

Turning around, he faced you, slouching noncommittally while he waited for you to say what you had to say. “What?” he grated out, fingers twitching. You nearly fell over, steadying your new body into a stop before looking straight at him with growing panic

“Hey, l-listen I know i-it’s a lot t-t ask from you.” you whispered, tone shaky. You’re a skeleton. You couldn’t believe it but here you were. “A whole lot, actually but I am in a very…disturbing position right now a-and I need a place to stay the night. Just the night.”

You were suddenly aware of the silence in the forest, the bird-song that you had initially heard having stopped almost as if to add to the tension of this moment.

The cat-man narrowed his slitted eyes at you before shrugging, eyes darting to the side. Defeat had overtaken his expression, hinting that he seemed to have given up a long time ago. “Fine.” He grumbled. “You can stay a night; but you’ll have to take the couch. The only other bedroom in my apartment is taken by my roommate.”

Relief flooded through you and you nodded happily. “Thank you.” you breathed before holding up your hand. You eyed it warily, still not used to the sight and your name rolled off your metaphorical tongue. You were mildly surprised you could even remember it, the rest of your past being a blank slate. The cat-man eyed it warily, looking for some trick hidden within it before taking it.

“Burgerpants.” He droned and your brows shot up with surprise.

“That’s not a name.” you blurted out before cringing. _Smooth, dude, really smooth_. You really need to hold your stupid metaphorical tongue and your guilt just intensified when he let out a shaky, almost aggravated sigh, hand retracting. You knew you had something wrong from the maniacal look on his face.

“It is now.” He stated, tone final. He stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Coming?” he urged, tramping his way through the trees. You perked up and followed him silently. He was right, you really did wind up in a park when the trees gave way to grassy lawns, stone benches and the occasional fountain. There was a feeling in the pit of your gut, the kind you felt when you had an epiphany that you were staring at something old and well crafted.

“Is Burgerpants really your name? Like legally? What is your other one?” You asked, trying to keep up with him. He simply clicked his tongue and avoided the question all together. You took that as a hint that he didn’t want to talk about and you stopped pursuing the topic.

Your alarm grew when you saw the first few humans pass you by. Your brows furrowed together. They were _shorter_ than you remembered. You were quite sure you were average when it came to your height back when you were one. It wasn’t until you had a few more sightings did you realize _you_ had actually shot up to a startling six foot seven with your clothes magically increasing a few sizes to accommodate you.

A couple of them sent you strange looks and you just jogged along, pulling your hood over your skull to avoid any more attention. Burgerpants glanced back and grumbled something under his breath. You could just make out a few words “…skeletons dropping out of nowhere…” and felt curiosity spark inside once more.

You didn’t know where he was leading you and you couldn’t say you could trust this creature either. The feline slowed his pace to walk beside you and his eyes darted to your eye-sockets. How where you able to see anyway? You may not have been a science whiz, but you were fairly certain you needed a lens, retina and certain fluids and of course your cone and rod cells for vision.

_But then again, you’re a living breathing, walking talking skeleton_.

“For real though?” he asked, his voice having a mildly curious lilt. “You seriously have no clue where you’re from or where you are?” You shook your h- _skull_ honestly. “Do you even know what happened here? Our history?” he enquired warily. Your blank look was all he needed and he slapped his hand over his snout.

What followed was a quick and brief explanation on monster history, about the war, the barrier, the Underground, the seven human SOULS and the shattering that took place roughly six years ago, which ultimately brought their freedom.

“And another thing…” he added, eying you critically. “One, you’re a monster. Even though it’s been a while, relations between humans and monsters are still a bit rocky. There are a couple who can’t stand each other. Two, skeleton monsters like you are rare and unless you want to bring in unwanted attention to yourself, you better find a likely story to how you ended up here.”

“Oh. Okay.” Was all you could say, slightly grateful. Burgerpants had mentioned the names of the different zones in the Underground. Maybe you could tell any monster who did ask that you lived in Waterfall’s caves or maybe deep in the woods of the tundra. That seemed more likely. “Where are we going anyway?”

Burgerpants looked somber. “Work.” He replied, then stopped talking for the rest of the way.

Your pace slowed as you finally reached your destination, ‘The NEW MTT Burger Emporium’, a red bricked building that seemed to be literally crammed between and Italian restaurant and an ice-cream shop. The feline monster stepped through the sliding doors and you followed, determined not to lose sight of him.

The place was well lit and painted gold and yellow, mainly covered with posters of a dancing robot. There were a few monsters there; a frosty bird-like monster in a striped tie, one resembling a constipated gingerbread man crouching near a potted plant and a serpentine monster wearing a sunhat and sunglasses, sipping a frappe. They all stopped, eying you with surprise and curiosity and you longed to hide somewhere with all the attention focused on you.

Whispers broke out and you nearly jumped with terror when one of the monsters rose, their eyes on you. You sent a beseeching to your companion and his ears flattened with annoyance. Burgerpants motioned to the employer’s room and you hopped into a less extravagant chamber, thankfully out of the prying eyes of the customers of the restaurant.

“Thanks.” You chipped out, leaning against the door. The walk had drained more out of you than you expected and you watched him amble to the back, well out of view, you looked around the room, taking in its appearance. There was a coatrack in the corner, a few lockers, a couple of hygiene supplies, a washing machine and dryer and a couch. There was another door, probably leading to a bathroom.

Burgerpants appeared again with something in his hands.

“Here, you can use some of my spare clothes. Yours are covered in muck.” He droned, handing you a bundle before giving you a half-hearted push to the door. You muttered a ‘thanks’ and entered the bathroom. There wasn’t a toilet, you noticed with shock, rather space to change and a row of sinks with a large mirror screwed on above them. You quickly went to one of the sinks, placing the clothes on the polished granite counter of one of the changing spaces.

You were still wearing the clothes you were sure you died in; a dark grey-almost black hoodie and light blue skinny jeans with ankle boots. Your hand reached into your hoodie pocket, phalanges brushing against your beanie. That was still there too. You blinked at your reflection, leaning forward. Burgerpants was right; you _were a mess_ , dirt smudging your hoodie and parts of your cervical vertebrae. But that didn’t matter as much as your physical appearance. You _really_ were a skeleton, for one, but not accurately so.

Your skull was smooth, tapering a little to the end, save a few curves and grooves and your jaw seemed melded to your cheek bones. Your mouth could still move to accommodate a smile or a frown and you grimaced, revealing a set of wickedly sharp canines hidden artfully from view at the corners. Opening your mouth, you could spot a whole void of darkness staring back and something glowing a bright green within it.

You cautiously poked it, then yelped with shock. You had a _tongue_. _You were a fucking skeleton with a tongue_. Rubbing the phalanges of your thumb and index finger together, you frowned, deep in thought. It had the same, if not slightly different consistency of tough gelatin, like a gummy bear while radiating some warmth. And it was green. You mind wandered back to the darkness you were floating in and the green light. You wondered if they had some sort of connection.

You were _certainly_ not a conventional skeleton, you decided.

But like any other skeleton, you had a nasal cavity instead of a nose and a pair of eye-sockets that were a little more to the larger side. In each eye-socket was a deep emerald circle of light that was so bright and dense, it almost looked solid. They seemed to act as your irises and you squinted. As mentioned, you skull was highly malleable and you were also equipped with eyelids. Grey specks and dots littered you cheekbones; the human equivalent to freckles and you sighed.

Okay, so you weren’t who you used to be and you felt _super weird_ in this new body.

Unzipping your hoodie, you shrugged it off, revealing the baby pink tank top worn inside. You froze, a panicked “Holy shi—?!” escaping your teeth as you stared down at it with growing panic. The fabric was coated a dark red and the _smell_ …metallic, like _blood_. You felt sick, your finger bones clutching the hem of the top before you quickly took it out.

_Right_ …and you were blushing a deep emerald.

Ribs, check. Sternum, check. You had lost a few of your previous physical… _traits_ on attaining your new body, but there were still telltale signs to determine the fact that you were a female. You unhooked your bra and stared down at it. You didn’t need this anymore, but you better hold on to it just in case. You noticed more grey freckle-dots coated your arms and clavicle, down to your carpals.

What caught your eye though, was a jagged scar that travelled down your sternum and lower ribs, disappearing from sight and the alabaster glow that faintly keened from inside your ribs, bobbing in the darkness. You strained your sight and made out the outline of an inverted heart.

On closer inspection, you saw the light wasn’t pure white but flecked with green and dark blue. You blinked, mouth parting slightly with wonder before impatient knocking ensued and you yelped, grabbing your clothes and retreating into a stall.

“Give me a few more minutes!” You called out, peeking out. To your relief, Burgerpants didn’t barge in and you decided he had left you alone. You quickly padded to the sink and washed of any dirt on your upper body before changing into the clothes offered to you. They were simple, a plain white t-shirt and baggy brown cargo pants. You kept your shoes, picking up your soiled garments and exiting the bathroom.

“Hey, can I use that?” you asked Burgerpants who was sitting on the couch, smoking. His gaze flicked to where you were pointing: the machine and dryer then to your clothes. He shrugged nonchalantly.

“Yeah sure, whatever.” He replied, rising from his seat. “My break’s almost up. I need to get back to work.” You nodded and quickly started up the machine, selecting the required cycle and dumping your clothes in after loading the detergent. You felt a little guilty leeching off of Burgerpants, knowing that this was just used to wash an employees’ uniform is it gets soiled while working. When the machine started, you sat back on the couch.

Like the restaurant, the employee’s room was covered with the occasional poster of the robot, a boxy structure with a panel fixed with bright LED lights that was lit to form an ‘M’. They were tilted into a theatrical angle, the frilly blue dress they had donned waving in the wind. One of their hands (which looked suspiciously like a Mickey Mouse glove) was pressed to where their chest should be and the other over their forehead melodramatically.

And in the corner, you saw a young human in a striped purple turtleneck with a look that clearly screamed ‘ _what the hell?!_ ’

‘ _Mettaton decked in his Bluebell ensemble serenading the current monster ambassador, Frisk during his human hunt in the Underground, 20XX._ ’ You read out. Huh. Okay, the robot is a guy for once. You shrugged mentally. Well, clothing doesn’t really have any gender to begin with. You could frolic around in a man’s dress-suit and totally rock the look, you bet.

The hands on the clock ticked by and you glanced at the contraption, realizing nearly fifteen minutes had passed with you procrastinating on the couch. Rising, you slowly opened the door to the employee’s room and peeked out into the restaurant. There were a few customers left and you decided not to take the risk, shutting the door.

There wasn’t much to do here except watch your clothes spin around in the machine.

***The whole monotonous cycle the clothes go through, from soaking to spinning to draining out the water is boring to watch. Even so, the utterly boring jobs actually lead to results you may or may not look forward to.**

After it was done, you loaded them into the dryer and proceeded to watch that process too, staring listlessly at the ancient machine, half hoping it won’t stop midway. Tire settled in your bones from the day’s activities, even though you barely did much and you settled on the couch again, staring up the ceiling. Your eyelids fluttered shut and you fell asleep, finger bones twitching on your sternum.

Sleep was always welcomed by you, but this time _something else_ lurked in that darkness. You weren’t exactly sure what it was as your fatigue slowly ebbed away and you were wrapped up in that emptiness having no memories to visit. It felt lonely, floating there, waiting for something to happen, something to trigger your memories.

And then suddenly, some sort of warm fuzziness tingled and you were overwhelmed by different sights, smells, sounds, tastes and feelings, the hazy picture of who you once were in every single one of them. You smiled, letting the sweetness fill your head.

A few hours later, Burgerpants woke you up, and you could just make out the darkness outside and the frustration you felt at having forgotten what you dreamt of.


	2. Boxes are super weird sometimes...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> BP let's you sleep on his couch and you have a weird experience with a box.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry y'all if I've annoyed you by publishing this chapter later than the assigned date! Something went wrong with my data yesterday so i couldn't publish it. Sorry!
> 
> P.S, thank you guys for the support; i honestly didn't expect this work to blow up in a day! It really fuelled my motivation.

Felix _would_ have enjoyed his thirty-minute break if it weren’t for the new monster who he spotted lying on the grass and dirt silently. At first, he thought it was one of those model skeletons he chanced upon in human schools that was just conveniently left in the park for some bizarre reason ( _more like tried to convince himself_ ) but her moving gave it away and he was suddenly stuck talking to a monster he had never seen before.

It was a good thing his apathy was the only thing his face could express ever since he started working for that toaster, because Felix was _insultingly_ surprised. Even though he wasn’t as aware of the happenings in the Underground, he was fairly certain the number of skeleton monsters were reduced down to two. Their type was rare, most of them having died out by a human ambush during a war. Nobody could even pinpoint the comedian or the cosplayer’s origins either.

But his mind had wandered back during that conversation with her. He remembered Sans (that was his name right?) appear in town with a whole bunch of weird look-alikes of him, claiming that they were ‘distant cousins’.

_Yeah right_.

Felix wasn’t stupid and while his apathy may give one the wrong idea that he isn’t as insightful as most, he had a shockingly sharp mind underneath his tired visage. He wasn’t rash enough to fall for Sans’ explanation for the sudden appearance of six skeletons that seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

He’d be damned if she turned out to be a ‘distant cousin’.

But further talk led to more confusion. The girl didn’t know where she was for starters and she didn’t know two shits about the Underground—heck! _She didn’t even know she was a skeleton_ until Felix pointed it out subtly. The only thing she was certain of was her name ~~which was pretty useless if you claimed to have forgotten your origins~~!

Before he knew what he was doing, he actually agreed to help her and her genuine relief had stopped him from taking back his words. So here he was, shoving some of his stuff into his bag, her watching him curiously with those huge sockets of hers. Then, he snapped his head up to look at her.

“Come on, my apartment is down the block. Or don’t. Whatever, it doesn’t bother me.” He stated blandly, his retail face now decapitating to his usual apathy. His job was achingly tiring, keeping that smile on even when his customer was a complete shit show. Felix wanted to be a star! An actor for stars sake but the toaster had other ideas, decking him up in this ensemble and having him fry and serve burgers for ten hours every day.

“I’m coming!” she assured quickly, grabbing her washed clothes and tucking them under her arm. Felix stepped out of the back door, making sure she was behind him at all times and began his walk back home. He didn’t tell her the details of his apartments, or his roommate.

His _boyfriend_ , to be more precise.

If she turned out to be a homophobe, he can just kick her out before she ends up hurting Tops’ feelings. He tensed at that thought and warily glanced at her. Her eyelights were everywhere, bouncing off buildings and humans and other monsters with growing curiosity. She managed to keep her pace with him silently, not striking up any conversation either to his relief.

Felix paused, mulling on a few thoughts. Maybe it was best he does give her a heads up on his lifestyle.

‘ _So uh, just so you don’t get weirded out…I’m gay and my roomie’s actually my boyfriend_.’ He stated under his breath. That isn’t so hard, he decided and he looked back at her. She was staring right at him with a raised brow; she almost looked amused.

“Okay.” She said and Felix blinked with confusion.

“What?” he mumbled out. She shrugged.

“I’m not as bothered if that’s what you thought. I don’t mind.” She explained and he felt his ears burn. She ended up hearing him after all; that means she’s a lot sharper than she lets on. He sighed and kept to himself after that, the young skeleton following after him. She actually managed to keep up.

Before she fell skull-first on the pavement.

*

“Footwear off.” The feline droned and you kicked off your boots, pushing them next to a rack that was placed beside the door.

The apartment door was unlocked and Burgerpants let you in silently. You looked around the place with growing curiosity. It wasn’t so bad…pretty fancy one might say; but how on earth can a guy with a job like his actually afford a decent space to live in? You’re pretty sure his boyfriend was a vendor from what you could garner from his conversation. What did he sell again…? Ice cream?

Nothing really added up, but you chose to ignore that little fact, turning in place to get the feel and vibes of the four walls. It was cozy and well-kept for though the white painted walls were a little bare of color. You span in place, taking in the sights smells and sounds. If you listened hard enough, you could just make out the hints of a song—a guitar perhaps, playing through the walls.

The living room was lit and airy, accompanied by a balcony that overlooked a park nearby. There was a comfy couch that smelt lightly of sugar and cola positioned in front of a large screen T.V, a beanbag pushed to the side and a coffee table that held an ashtray and a few cigarette stubs along with a box of unused ones. It let off a masculine aura but you didn’t mind it much.

“This is actually better than I expected.” You admitted, turning to the feline monster after placing the bag on the table. Burgerpants blinked, raising an eyebrow.

“What did you expect?” he tested.

“A dump.” You muttered, cheekbones heating up with embarrassment. Sometimes you let your words get the better of you. You really needed to inculcate a filter sometime soon! Burgerpants just shrugged, walking past you, leaving you alone to explore the place and satiate your curiosity (or was it to get away from you for a while?). You felt a little grateful at the action, deciding not to waste any more time.

You padded across the apartment, finding a bathroom behind one of the shut doors. You turned the knob, leaning forward to scan the room after groping about to find the light switch. It was slightly warm and steam still lingered around, hinting that someone had just finished using it a few minutes ago. Probably Burgerpants’ roommate, you realized, since you doubted anyone else could have used it.

It wasn’t such a bad place either, much better kept than the one in the employee’s cabin back at the Emporium with white, cream and green tiling. The towel rack was stainless steel decorated with brass fastenings that bore into the wall. It was actually impressive, one of the better bathrooms you had seen (not that you could remember how yours might have looked but you were sure it wasn’t as good as this one).

As half expected, this one was a bathroom with no toilet once again (what was up with that? Didn’t monsters need to use the bathroom?). The dry area was separated from the wet by a glass cubicle which housed a shower with lots of complicated brass dials that were carefully labeled. Some of them were for hot and cold water, some for shower options, ‘jet’, ‘fountain’, ‘waterfall’ and ‘electric storm’ just being a few. Some of the dials did nothing at all while some were labeled under ‘Do not touch’ for the sole purpose of not being used.

You stepped out of the bathroom, a little wiser. It seems that monsters were rather eccentric when it came to their creations and daily routines, judging by the way the shower was built. You moved on to the next few rooms.

A kitchenette was tucked away at the end of the apartment, slightly out of sight. The black counter-top was wiped down, though you could spot a few stains still remaining. A coffee maker was plugged in to one of the sockets and a huge jar of coffee beans stood beside it. Burgerpants was at the sink, washing a few dishes that were left unwashed.

There was a microwavable oven and a fridge as seen in most kitchens, only these ones were a lot more advanced than the ones you could remember. They were sleek and a metallic grey embossed with the ‘MTT’ emblem at the top corner that glinted out showily in your eyelights. On closer inspection, you realized that the fridge had an in-built camera and… _wait_ …

“Wi-Fi?” you choked out. Burgerpants glanced at the fridge and hummed, a cigar hanging from his fangs,

“Yeah. Mettaton started a line of smart fridges like these two years ago.” He replied. “It has a lot of shit a fridge doesn’t necessarily need I mean _WHO THE FUCK WANTS A MUSIC PLAYER BUILT IN WITH IT?! WE HAVE OUR PHONES, RIGHT?_ ” His sudden hysteria caught you off guard and you nearly dropped the plate you were examining.

Surprised at the fact he pointed out, you turned your attention to the fridge again; or rather, the sticky label that was pasted below the warranty tag. He was right, it _did_ have an in-built music console, Wi-Fi, a security camera for some weird reason and a security measure, which you discovered to your alarm and horror, was a whirring alarm and a chainsaw. Turns out, the thing has face recognition scan which prevents any strangers from ‘stealing’ the contents inside.

You learned the hard way when you tried to open the door and nearly got sliced in half. The updates added to the appliance would have been cool if some of them wasn’t really necessary. Really, the _chainsaw actually ruined your whole outlook to this thing_.

The cabinets were positioned an inch above your outstretched arm, the doors lined with redwood and fastened with generic handles. They were obviously cleaned as well, housing stacked cutlery. There wasn’t anything else in the kitchen that caught your interest, so you moved down the hall, passing two bedrooms, one of them being locked shut.

The other one must be Burgerpants’ and you didn’t want to invade his privacy.

The other one though, you could hear faint shuffling at the other side, so you decided to investigate. You had barely touched the doorknob when it swung open to reveal a bunny monster with messy cyan fur that was obviously well kept in spite of its current state.

So monsters took on animalistic features, huh? You just met a cat, a bird and now a rabbit.

You scanned his appearance which consisted of a pale yellow shirt and a pair of baggy what had once been dark blue overalls that had faded into a lighter shade. Navy blue patches were sewn over the knees. He was a few inches taller than your feline acquaintance, his long ears adding to some of his height.

You scanned his facial expression. His eyes were half-lidded and his back was slouched. From his rather dazed countenance, you could guess he just woke up from a really deep siesta.

His eyeballs scanned the room sleepily before they landed on your shorter frame. He froze at the sight of you, staring into your eye-sockets before backing away, brown hues glinting with mild surprise. You stared back at him, just as surprised by his sudden appearance. Was this Burgerpants’ roommate? It seemed more likely.

“Wha-” he had barely stuttered out with disorientation before relaxing when he heard Burgerpants swear after dropping a frying pan in the kitchen. You turned and giggled with slight amusement at the scene then transferring your attention back at the bunny monster. You had an inkling he almost thought you had broken in initially, considering you were a total stranger.

“Felix? Has one of Sans’ cousins come around?” he called out before transferring his attention to you, smiling genuinely. He held out a furry paw for you to take. “Hi, the name’s Tops. And you are?”

You grinned back, taking his hand in reply to the greeting, giving him your name. “Nice to meet you.” you added, warming up immediately to his friendly demeanor. You wondered if _every_ monster out there was as pleasant as he was. Tops’ chocolate eyes lit tested your name, ears twitching.

“That’s a nice name.” he complimented genuinely. The comment had your skull heat up into an emerald flush. _How was this guy in a relationship with someone as salty as Burgerpants again?_ They were complete opposites. Your attention diverted to the kitchen; speaking of which…

You heard shuffling and you looked to your right, hand dropping to your side as the feline monster padded up to both of you. Tops stepped out of room and stuffed his hands into his overall pockets, now looking much more awake than he was initially. It didn’t take you long to realize that ‘Felix’ was actually Burgerpants’ real name.

_Ha, take that! You found out anyway._

“So, uh what’re you doing here?” Tops asked you though he kept glancing at Felix, obviously expecting answers to your presence. The feline monster blinked slowly the sighed.

“Long story.” He replied, turning to face you. “I know I’m being a pessimist, but the kid has absolutely NO CLUE on who she is so yay us. I honestly don’t know what’s up, but she’ll be crashing on the couch for the night.” He waved at you and you grinned sheepishly. Tops seemed a little stunned but nodded amiably anyway.

“Okay.” He stated, sending you a gentle look. He obviously felt bad for you and your predicament. Burgerpa- Felix left you to the bunny monster, half dragging himself to his bedroom for a much needed rest. Tops stepped into his room and started rifling through one of his cupboards before finally pulling out a spare sheet, a pillow and a blanket. “Let’s get you settled in, shall we?”

“Thank you.” you nodded gratefully. Guilt ate away at your chest you felt like you were imposing yourself on them at this point. Taking the blanket and the pillow from him, you followed him to the living space where he set the sheet on the couch and pushed the coffee table away, shaking his head.

“Seriously, I keep telling ‘Lix to quite, but my advice just flies over his head.” He tutted. “I’m sorry about the mess, we really weren’t expecting guests. Oh don’t feel bad,” he added, catching sight of your downcast look. “You’re certainly welcome for a few nights.”

“That is really nice of you.” you admitted. “But I need to stand my own two feet after this.” The bunny monster blinked, a smile making way to his face at the words. He seemed mildly impressed at your grit. After the table was well away from the couch, he unfolded the sheet.

You helped him spread it across the settee, tucking it under the cushions. Then, you positioned the blanket and the pillow on it. You turned to see Tops sending you a strange look. “Is it true you can’t really remember anything?” he asked with curiosity, his voice down to a whisper. You hunched your shoulders nodding mutely in reply.

“Just fragments.” You mumbled. “I have a feeling I get dreams about them, but every time I wake up, they just slip out of my memory and I’m left with a blank slate again. It’s really frustrating…” you blushed at your rant, reprimanding yourself for letting slip and dumping all of this on a monster you barely know.

“Oh, I see…” Tops mumbled, a frown on his face like he was just as disturbed as you were. Then it abated. “You can use the bathroom if you’d like before going to bed. Showers usually help me rest easy. You may need a good night’s rest for one and who knows, you might just remember something tomorrow.”

“Thanks. That means a lot to me.” You breathed, grateful for his kindness. He flashed you another grin, showing off his buck teeth before he straightened up and went back to his bedroom. “Good night.” He called out, your name following after. You sent him a small wave.

“Good night, Tops.” You replied with slight fatigue. You heard his bedroom door shut and you stood there for a few moments, then made way to the bathroom. Locking the door behind you and stripping yourself, you took a quick shower, letting the hot water soothe your bones. You questioned the logic though.

You were a _skeleton_ now, not a human anymore. You had no nerves, so how were you able to perceive the heat or the cold? You decided to look into it later, basking in the steam. The anthropoid rabbit was right, the shower _did_ help you relax. By the time you stepped out, you wasted no time in flopping onto the couch and pull the sheets over you.

Sleep greeted you again for the second time that day, the tendril of your memories reaching out and wrapping itself around you. You smiled as the images began to sift through gently, comforting your anxiety and bringing peace to your SOUL. You tried to grasp some of them, keep them to yourself, but you forgot about them the moment they passed you by.

When you woke the next day, sunlight shining into your eye-sockets, you were greeted by the sweet smell of breakfast and the lingering feeling of happy fuzziness of a good dream. For a split second, you forgot where you were and panic rose. You reached up to massage your temple out of nervousness and you stopped at the sight of your hand.

Oh, _right_.

You died, you turned into a skeleton and you can’t remember anything about your previous life. You knew the basics about yourself, from your name to your likes and dislikes and your preferences. That was all you could recall so far. You felt a little bitter at not being able to remember them as your boney feet met the floor. You wiggled your tarsals, watching with fascination as they moved without muscle.

_How did this even work_?

You looked up, your emerald hues meeting Felix’s gold ones as he shuffled lazily over to the couch. In his hand like paws was a plate of toast with a fried egg and what seemed to be bacon rashers, though the meat was darker. You frowned at it with curiosity as he handed it over to you. “Eat up.” He grumbled, ears flattening. “Tops is gonna take you to a box to see if you have any money on you.”

“But I don’t.” you muttered absentmindedly, poking the ‘bacon’ cautiously with a fork. You were acutely aware of how hungry you were at that moment which was strange, considering you _didn’t have a stomach_. “Wait…box?”

“He’ll explain later.” Felix replied shortly. You blinked down at your breakfast, forking some of the meat and lifting it up to your mouth. A sudden thought jolted through your head; you were a skeleton. Won’t the stuff just…fall out of you? You shrugged, too famished to bother, biting into the bacon. Chewing it, you realized it had a juicier, tender texture, almost like that of a vegetable.

“Hey, FELIX!” you called out. “What’s the brown stuff you gave me?”

“Water sausage!” Tops’ voice called out instead and you blinked, staring down at the ‘bacon’. Betrayal sparked in your eyelights. So this wasn’t bacon?

“My life is a lie…” you whispered hoarsely, chowing down the rest of what remained on your plate. Amazingly, the food seemed to dissolve the moment you swallowed it, so you didn’t have to worry about making a mess on the couch. After you were done, you got to your feet and made way to the kitchenette. Tops was washing his and Felix’s dishes.

“Pass it over.” He said, holding out his hand to take the plate.

“It’s okay, I’ll do It.” you assured, narrowly dodging a swipe that followed. You shimmied over to the sink, trying to get the plate washed by yourself, but the blue rabbit wasn’t having any of it, trying to pry it out of your grasp. You pulled back, screeching childishly, dousing his sleeve with water and splashing the liquid all over the place.

“You’re a guest.” Tops pointed out as a matter of fact-ly.

_What was up with nice people when you try doing them a favor! It’s like they want to unwittingly guilt you for the rest of your life_.

“I _OWE_ YOU!” you spat out, struggling to keep a hold on the plate, even though the water made it slippery. After a minute of constant pulling and tugging, you managed to yank it out of his grasp. The two of you slipped over a few wet spots on the floor, Tops’ head getting drenched under the sink and you falling flat on your back with an ungracious ‘ooomph’.

Well, that’s what you call falling…in styyyleee!

Felix stepped out of his room, now dressed in his work uniform. His apathetic glare scanned both of you before his forced smile spread across his face. “This…is…the…problem with nice people.” He gritted out, hands twitching as he stalked out of the door. You and Tops glanced at each other before cracking up with mirth.

“I guess you can wash your plate.” He admitted, stepping away from the sink. His fur was soaking wet and you got to your feet, rinsing your dish before scrubbing it with dishwasher. When you were done, you noticed the feline had left for his job and a soft ‘oh’ escaped your teeth. Tops had gone to dry his fur; by the time he had returned, it was back to its fluffy consistency.

There were a lot of things you wanted to ask him, but you didn’t know where to start. Finally, you settled on one question.

“How were you able to afford this place?” you blurted out. Tops cocked his head to the side, then chuckled.

“You’re a sharp one, aren’t you?” he replied. “Well, back in the Underground, our currency was GOLD or G, you know, the metal that’s really precious to humans? Well, back where we came from, it wasn’t as valuable as it was up here. When we got up to the surface, all we had to do is sell off what GOLD we had saved up for human money and trust me, we got a whole lot of it.”

You nodded, digesting this piece of information. “Felix mentioned a box too…” You mumbled. The bunny monster picked that up—probably because of those huge ears of his and he grinned, nodding in reply.

“Dimension boxes.” He explained. “We ended up installing a bunch of those all over town. A person can put an item in the box and they can be preserved in there for a really long time. Most of all, they can’t be accessed by anyone else—I guess it’s kinda like those chests in that game that humans are crazy about…” he trailed of, trying to find the words, but you beat him to it.

“Like an Enderchest?” you asked, strongly reminded of the item in Minecraft. Tops nodded.

“Precisely.” He finished.

“But how can you be sure I have money in there?” you enquired. The monster shrugged.

“It’s a gamble.” He replied. “So if you do have some GOLD in one of them, you can sell it. The price for G has dropped ever since we started selling our gold off but hopefully not to a point where you can’t get a decent price for it. After that, you can buy yourself some stuff you need and I can go man my stall.”

“Sounds like a plan.” You chipped. Tops then proceeded to disappear into his room to change, which prompted you to get out of your borrowed clothes. Your bag was still on the coffee table, thankfully and you fished out your garments, glad most of the muck on them was washed off. Then you slipped into the bathroom and pulled out the t-shirt and baggy pants, folding them carefully and placing them on the counter. You didn’t know what to do with them, so you left them there.

You donned your tank top and jeans, tying your hoodie around your waist and finally topping it off by slipping on your beanie. Tops waited for you by the door and you scampered to join him, stuffing your hands into your jeans pockets.

“Ready.” You hummed. He opened the door, allowing you to step out first. You pulled on your boots, the two of you setting out soon after. Tops proceeded to collect a cart that was hidden away at the alley beside the apartment. So he sold ice-cream, you mumbled to yourself, though the sign on it clearly read ‘ _Nice Cream_ ’. You wondered what the difference was.

Weaving through the streets, you brought in some more alarm from humans and monster alike, so you decided to hide yourself behind the bunny monster’s back, hoping he’ll hide you away from any strange looks. After what seemed like an eternity of pacing, Tops stopped before a perfectly ordinary looking wooden box. He gestured at it dramatically.

“I present to you…the box!” he declared and you sent him a deadpan glare at the wood chest that seemed to be nowhere close to special. “Go on…open it!”

You bent over, eyelights sweeping over it. Your phalanges undid the clasp and you pushed the lid open, peering into the darkness of the box. There was absolutely nothing there and you nearly turned to Tops to point it out, dismay coating your features.

Then static buzzed over your eye-sockets and you nearly dropped the lid over your skull with shock. A garbled speech buzzed over your metaphorical ears.

***YOU WISH FOR** **COINAGE?** **ALRIGHT, I'LL ASSIST YOU...**

You turned back to the box and gaped as the wood bottom of the crate gave way to darkness. It filled the whole structure, writhing and pulsing as if it were alive, then as quickly as it appeared, it receded, leaving behind a small pile of glinting metal. Your finger bones twitched as you scooped it up, the gold’s luster shining over your skull.

“See, you do have some!” Tops pointed out. You had half a mind to tell him what happened, then fell silent, knowing he wouldn’t believe you. Instead, you took to staring at the box, puzzled and a little intimidated.

*

The gold was sold and as Tops predicted, you hadn’t acquired much. Just enough to buy yourself two sets of clothes, some shoes and a meal at a cheap restaurant. Having worn your hoodie again to avoid more attention over your skeletal body, you shuffled from foot to foot, staring down at the bills in your boney hands, you glanced back up at the store, eyelights shrinking tensely. The bunny monster had dropped you off at AllMart™ then went on to sell his product at the park.

You were _alone_.

And honestly? _You were scared shitless_ , at loss on what to do. So you simply took a deep breath in and stepped into the store, looking around to see where to start. The store was true to its name, for sure, the articles they sell ranging from everyday needs to snacks, cosmetics and clothes and shoes, for both humans and monsters. Considering the fact that you had an unexpected growth spurt in your new body, you went over to the rack of clothes that sold in monster sizes.

You were barely halfway towards the clothes aisle when you were barreled down by someone. Your skull met cold floor and you grimaced, cursing your cruel luck at the moment. An alarmed yell sounded out above you and you felt the person scramble off quickly.

“Oh STARS! I apologize thoroughly.” A voice cut out, unmistakably male. You shook your skull, taking the blue gloved hand that was held out to you. Your emerald eyelights met blue-tinged gold not unlike your own which widened with likewise surprise.

“You-you’re…” he stuttered out. “You’re a _skeleton_ …”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [So, you guys following me on Tumblr yet?](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/larentia-ray09) I'll be posting update alerts, art and bonus chapters there; even answer some of your questions!


	3. Skeletons have no idea about the concept of personal space.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Title says it all, sweeties. Also, you get hugged a lot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMG, all of you! You're all like the best people ever!!!

“You-you’re…” he stuttered out. “You’re a skeleton…”

You froze in place surprise blatantly spread over your skull as time seemed to freeze.

So, we’ll take our time to describe said skeleton. He was a head taller than you, probably hitting around seven foot seven to eight inches at the most. His skull was structured a little similarly to yours as well, only with rounder around the cheekbones and mandible. His attire consisted of an unbuttoned plaid blue shirt with cyan biker gloves covering his boney hands and dark blue jeans complete with large blue boots.

A blue bandanna was tied around his vertebrae which partly obscured a script on his grey shirt on which the initial script printed on it was struck out and modified with what you suspected was, black permanent marker. ‘ _Cool B ~~eans~~ lue’._

You didn’t know whether you wanted to laugh at hilarity or cry at your situation, so you racked what was left of your last three brain cells (Wait, you were a skeleton. Did you even have a brain now?) for an answer to his exclamation.

‘ _Well, not really. I was actually human before I ended up dying and then I woke up like this. Did I mention that I’m from a world that has no monsters? Crazy, right? Okay, you can call those dudes from Arckham Asylum or something to drag me away for an eternity of imprisonment and torment, bye!_ ’

You almost said that. But you didn’t.

What? Were you actually going to tell a complete stranger (even though Felix and Tops were ‘strangers’ to your expense) that shit, skeleton or not? There were times where you knew your limits and two monsters who were aware of your ~~fucked up story~~ current situation was crossing that line. Two’s a company but three? Definitely a crowd.

Even so, a tiny part of you felt a little relieved knowing that you weren’t the only bag of bones and magic out there.

Stuffing your hands into your hoodie pocket, you shot him (was he a ‘he’?) a small, doubtful smile and nodded. “Yeeahhh…” You muttered, looking down at your shoes, half hoping he’d leave you alone after your half assed, awkward reply, but he didn’t. Instead he chuckled almost with excitement, literally picking you up by the arms and spinning you around at breakneck speed. It seems he didn’t really regard your personal space and you flushed a deep emerald.

“Oh STARS! I thought we were the only ones—who are you? What’s your name? Where are you from? How come we’ve never seen you before?” he babbled, setting you down. His eyelights had morphed into bright cyan stars and you cringed, partly out of dizziness and partly out of all the questions he bombarded you with.

Wait as second, his eyelights were…stars?

~~Oh no that was adorable; _he_ was adorable.~~

“Oh well…uh I…um…” You barely managed out when he clamped his gloved hand over your mouth grinning wildly. His excitement was clearly displayed in that huge smile of his.

“Wait, pause for a moment…PAPY, OH MY GOODNESS GUESS WHAT I STUMBLED ACROSS!” he yelled, his voice pitching up a few octaves. If you still had ears, you were pretty sure your ear drums would have burst. You didn’t though, but it still hurt. And as if the situation couldn’t get any ~~worse~~ or weirder…

“I-Is that a skeleton?!” screeched out a new voice and your eyelights shot over to the source of the voice, a taller skeleton, a little more lanky than the one before you. His clothing was an utter fashion disaster (not that you were judging him since you weren’t any better), consisting of an orange crop top which like the skeleton in blue, was modified with black permanent marker, the words ‘ _Rad dude_ ’ splayed across in a hazily familiar font.

He wore light blue denim shorts with large oversized red gloves and matching red boots, a red cable knit scarf completing the look. You had to crane your neck upwards to look him in the eye (err…eye-socket) due to his sheer, monstrous height. You made out the features of his skull, which was thinner and longer with round cheekbones to add to his childish appearance. His jaw was actually connected to it rather than melded together like yours and the shorter skeletons.

You were snapped out of your thoughts by his loud voice greeting your non-existent ears.

“It IS!” He screeched with excitement, dropping the packets of pasta and sauce he was holding and you found yourself (once again) swooped off your feet and spun around. “Why HELLO THERE, new Ms. skeleton!” You clutched his orange tank top, internally begging any gods above to will this peppy skeleton to put you down.

~~What was up with these guys? Weren’t they ever told about space bubbles?~~

“Papy, I think you better put her down.” The shorter skeleton called out. Finally, he did and you staggered in place, your hands collected by his gloved ones, shaking them. Your beanie had shot off somewhere when you were being spun, to your dismay.

“Oh joy! I can’t tell you the last time I saw a skeleton (other than by brother and…cousin, of course)! What’s your name!” he asked brightly and your eyelights focused on the adorable childishness that was splayed on his skull. Before you knew it, your name had escaped your teeth and you nervously tensed when he clapped his hands with delight.

“Where are my manners? Silly me…Ms. Skeleton, I of course, am the GREAT PAPYRUS, proud mascot of monster kind. Of course you would know that.” He finished, striking a heroic pose and you nodded mechanically.

“Oh yeah, I heard of you.” you fibbed, hoping he’d fall for it even though you were a terrible liar. He gasped, a sparkly aura erupting around him as he clasped his red gloved hands together. You turned to the shorter skeleton and smiled nervously, not really wanting to leave him out. “And, uh…you are…?”

He brightened up winking at you, striking a pose of his own not unlike the skeleton named Papyrus. “Oh, me? I of course am the MAGNIFICENT S-BLUE!” He proclaimed, but you noticed his slight slip up. You blinked with slight suspicion, scrutinizing his skull which had started sweating bullets and his cyan eyelights darted to Papyrus before he cleared his throat.

“You’re new here, aren’t you, for I would have noticed you before?” He pointed out, changing the topic immediately and you laughed nervously, suspicion forgotten as you tried to edge away from them ever so slightly. You didn’t want to answer any more questions with any more lies, it felt wrong.

~~And you really hated yourself for it.~~

“Oh, r-right…I’m p-pretty low-key actually. I rarely g-get out much and stuff…” you chuckled with mild anxiety. “I-I’m just here t-to buy some new clothes, you know and…” You trailed off, squeaking with shock when he grabbed your hand and literally dragged you to the clothing aisle, Papyrus bouncing after you. The amount of energy they radiated was too much to handle for your tastes, even though they seemed like genuinely nice people.

“NYEHEHE! If its clothes you want, then allow the great Papyrus to aid you in choosing some!” the taller skeleton proclaimed grandly, his fingers splayed across his sternum. Blue let out a soft ‘Mwehehe’, his grin widening if possible. You felt panic fizzle your head and you waved your free hand in protest.

“Oh _no_ , I can’t possibly inconvenience you in any way!” you squawked out, alarmed. Your eyelights darted to Papyrus’ half full shopping cart; the comment you uttered out being partly true. But they didn’t seem anywhere close to being affronted, instead laughing it off airily while your pace slowed before a row of hangers.

“Nonsense! We take it onto ourselves to aid those in need!” Blue declared dramatically. “It’s nothing short on what heroes would do.” he and Papyrus once again posed, the former dressed in blue bending his knee to the side, his body tilting to the weight while his gloved hand pumped the air while the latter seemed to be dabbing, though his skull snapped to the side.

The situation evoked more attention than you wanted it to, people slowing their steps to look at them with shock before scuttling away.

They shifted back to their initial positions and Blue motioned towards a whole rack of clothes which you had just noticed. You blinked owlishly a couple of times, half expecting them to come alive and rip you apart. You glanced at him once more before rifling through the clothes, half wondering if they were just going to stand there and watch you.

As expected, they didn’t, Papyrus taking one end of the shelf while Blue raided the other. You felt a tap on your shoulder blades—was the right word to use, scapula? and you turned to face the taller skeleton who held up a shirt that was five sizes too big for you, colored a vibrant neon orange.

“Well, does this garment please you? It is a recommendation by the great Papyrus!” he exclaimed and Blue peeked over your shoulder, which had you start with alarm as your space bubble was once again violated.

“That, Papy?” Blue pointed out, sounding slightly put off. “Isn’t it rather big?” Papyrus blinked and held the shirt up to you in comparison, a tangerine blush dusting his cheekbones. He drew back, rubbing his cranium nervously.

“Oh, Nyehehe, well that is true, I was simply…err…” he quickly dumped the shirt back into the shelf. You chuckled besides yourself, finding a t-shirt to your liking that was close to your size. From further investigation to different monster sizes, you noticed your frame fit the size of a late monster adolescent. That and because Blue bluntly pointed it out in passing.

“Are you still in your teens?” he had asked, pulling out a skirt before shaking his head and replacing it again. Papyrus seemed momentarily distracted by a set of plastic battle armor that was put up for some reason (even though you were pretty sure it was nowhere close to Halloween). You looked up, slightly taken aback.

“No, I’m an adult. Why?” you replied, vaguely sure that you were when you died. Either that, or you weren’t just stuffed into a new skeleton body but a new skeleton body that was of a kid. The more you thought about it, the more it sucked. If you were a kid that meant you couldn’t drive or drink or watch R-rated movies. Blue grinned dismissively.

“Well, just to make sure; you weren’t wearing any stripes for one and the fact that you’re pretty short—oh dear, did I insult you in any way?! Do forgive me if I have!” He exclaimed and you couldn’t help but smile at his genuine apologetic tone. You waved it off lazily.

“Nah…I get that a lot.” You stated, half wondering if that were true. Were you short as a human? Maybe you were. A loud ‘NYEH’ screeched behind you and your attention turned to papyrus who dumped a shirt back into the pile of clothes present, fuming. Curious, you reached out to examine it.

‘ _Feeling **bonely**. Could you give me a call?_’ it read out and beneath it was a cartoon skeleton reclined over a beanbag, posing affectedly. You guffawed, tucking the shirt under your arm and Papyrus wailed.

“Surely you wouldn’t want to buy THAT abomination???” he grimaced helplessly. He wasn’t a fan for puns, that much being said with how he reacted to the mere sight of it. You felt a little bad yet you smiled slightly. You actually liked this one, and coincidentally it was your size, probably the reason why Papyrus picked it up in the first place.

“I dunno…I think it’s funny.” You stated and Papyrus grabbed his skull with his gloved hands, groaning dramatically. The bustle of the store came to stop, watching your group and you nearly sunk into the ground with embarrassment.

“EVEN WHEN IN HIS ABSENCE, MY BROTHER CONTINUES TO CORRUPT INNOCENTS WITH HIS PUNS!” he screeched. Blue seemed to have caught on, wearing an alarmed expression on his skull as he froze midway handing you a beanie that you fairly certain was the one you lost thirty minutes ago.

“Cleanse her!” He snickered dramatically. You had an inkling he wasn’t as affected by the joke as Papyrus was judging by how he seemed to be suppressing any laughter. Your eyelights darted to the side and you stepped aside, allowing them to fume for a couple of minute. Then they calmed down, immediately continuing on to whatever they were doing.

The next hour, you had a dozen outfits presented to you, some of them contradicted by the two skeletons, some of them, they agreed on.

“Ooooh, this will look nice on you!”

“WOWIE! I like this one. You should try it!”

“Hmmm, I’d say this attire is far too ‘Lazy Sunday’. Maybe something chipper!”

“The GREAT PAPYRUS will have you choose nothing less than the best!”

Finally, you settled on two sets that fit into your budget along with a pair of pajamas that Blue and Papyrus strongly protested on you wearing—possibly because of the numerous dancing, bow-tie wearing skeletons that were printed all over the fabric. You had thought it was cute, Blue called it ‘scandalous’ before silently agreeing that it was a little funny and Papyrus stated that it was something ‘Sans would wear to a board meeting’ so it was out of the question for him.

“Can’t I keep it?” you begged the taller skeleton. Crossing his arms, the tall skeleton shook his head.

“Uncalled for! I will not let Sans’ absent influence plague your Soul with his sense of taste or humor. You must resist it, Ms. Green skeleton!” he replied and you glanced down at the pajamas with a sense of longing. They were a neat pair, you thought and you caught Papyrus staring at you.

Three minutes later, the two skeleton, like the gentlemen they were, helped you take your clothes and a pair of shoes to the checkout counter, pajamas and all bless their SOULS. After your new clothes and shoes were packed and paid for, you were about to go on your way when you were stopped by Blue calling out your name, who had an extra-large grin on his face that disarmed you completely.

“Yeah, what’s wrong?” you asked and he sauntered up to you, flipping his phone, a state of the art touch screen device that you nearly fainted at the sight of.

“We should be Instaground buddies! Do you have an account…actually forget that, I have far too many followers to count (I’m the coolest skeleton around here, after all)…let me give you my phone number, do you have your phone on you?” He asked and you could barely keep up with his words. How on earth did Felix handle people like this?!

Did he just ask for your phone?! You didn’t have one and you were pretty sure those boxes weren’t going to supply any like it did with a gold. Blue stared at you expectantly and you conjured up an excuse, an explanation. You took a deep breath in and smiled shakily. “Ah, well, I don’t have a phone…”

“WHAT?!” Papyrus and Blue exclaimed, the former having joined you two a few seconds ago. You bristled, fully aware you didn’t frame the sentence the way wanted it to and waved your hands, trying to dismiss the idea, and explain better, but you were interrupted once more.

“How can you _NOT_ have a phone?!” Blue emphasized. “The need to explore the virtual world, make friends and gain admirers for your coolness-”

“That the great Papyrus truly needs, mind you!” Papyrus added in between. “And of course, the requirement to call a friend for help or a simple chat-”

“Or your brother!” Blue interjected. “OH STARS, who’d probably have slept for the whole day if you hadn’t phoned him up to wake him!”

You were at complete loss at this point as the skeletons continued their ramble. You knew their shock wasn’t spiteful and even though you had known them for an hour and a half, you genuinely liked them once you got over their boisterous personalities. But that didn’t stop you from feeling nervous, afraid that your identity or lack thereof might come spilling out. You held up a hand, silencing them.

“I-I meant to say that I left it…at um…you know…” You really weren’t good at lying and Papyrus’ skull had contorted to concern, your name escaping his teeth being what shut you up.

“Are you alright?” He asked, blinking. “You seem at loss of words—which of course isn’t surprising due to my greatness!” You giggled when he posed for the third time that day, his red scarf fluttering in the nonexistent breeze. Blue seemed a little worried as well, though he tried to lighten it up by patting you on the shoulder good-naturedly.

“Mwehehe, I’m certain you mean ‘home’, Ms. cute skeleton.” He finished for you and you almost relaxed when he added another comment that had you tense up again. “But with the way you act, it’s almost as if you don’t have one.” You glanced at his cyan eyelights, then at Papyrus’.

WAIT, _CUTE?!_

Papyrus seemed painfully oblivious, but Blue seemed to be scrutinizing you, watching you under all that childish innocence. He was a lot more perceptive than he actually let on, you realized and you chuckled, rubbing the back of your skull nervously as light dawned on both the skeleton’s features at the sight of your helpless look. Papyrus pulled you into a bear hug, nearly cracking your ribs and spine in the process as he picked you up.

Goodbye space bubble.

“OH YOU POOR THING!” he cried, patting your skull comfortingly. “SURELY YOU MUST HAVE SOME HOME TO RETURN TO?”

“Ah, well yes…I’m sleeping on a friend’s couch, actually.” You choked out between the hug, your features mushed into Papyrus’ ribcage. You shot Blue a pleading glance, but he seemed just as taken a back, if not more than the taller skeleton did, his cyan eyelights flickering.

“Unacceptable!” Papyrus declared, dropping you. “The horrible effects of sleeping on a couch is hazardous to one’s health. I know from my experiences in sheltering Undyne…”

“…and Alphys stayed on my couch as well till the barrier broke.” Blue added and you blinked, slightly surprised at the fact that they did seem to know their shit. You gripped the tote bag that the shop was kind enough to supply when you declined the wispy plastic ones, desperately trying to piece together a reply.

“It’s okay, I plan on going house hunting anyway.” You assured, though they didn’t seem very assured by your comment. “I’m serious!” You added when they squinted at you with identical suspicious glares, bending over and stroking their mandibles while they looked at you patronizingly. It was adorable, the effect they seemed to resonate and you found yourself smiling genuinely.

Papyrus blinked slowly, then grinned. “Well, I could fix that little problem of yours!” He decided.

Huh?

“I can give Sans a call and see if he knows anyone who can offer you an apartment! A simple task for someone as great as me, yes but don’t fret, Ms. Skeleton! You will have a home to stay in no time at all!” He continued, flipping out his phone. You found yourself grinning with gratitude. This was precisely what he needed!

“Seriously! Oh my god, that would be g-” you began before you were cut off by Blue who held a strange loon on his skull. He muttered something to Papyrus, pushing his phone down and the taller skeleton nodded, stuffing it in his pocket. You frowned at the sudden turn of events.

Then they stepped back, pulling each other into a huddle while you gawked at them, wondering what they could be talking about. You could just make out their loud, boisterous whispers but the traffic along the street and passer-byes stopped you from eavesdropping. Finally, they stepped away from each other, backs straight as they watched you. They seemed to have come to a decision to whatever they were talking about.

“MS. SKELETON!” Papyrus exclaimed and you flinched when his volume had increased drastically. “THE GREAT PAPYRUS-”

“-AND THE MAGNIFICENT BLUE-” The shorter skeleton piped up and you almost chuckled at their display.

“-HAVE DECIDED ON THE INCULCATION OF OUR FRIENDSHIP-”

“-THAT YOU-”

“-MAY HAVE EVERY RIGHT-”

Oh stars, were they actually taking turns? This was adorable!

“-TO APPROACH US FOR A ROOM!” Papyrus finished with a flourish, an orange blush beginning to dust over his cheekbones. “That is…err, if you do not mind by any chance…” he added. Your mind went blank. Did these guys, monster who you knew for barely two hours offer you a place to set up residence in? weren’t they going to make a few calls and set you up for somewhere else? You didn’t know whether you should take up this tempting proposal or play it safe.

After all, you had only just met them. Besides…

“Is your place even big enough?” you asked silently and Blue scoffed, his bandanna gusting in the wind. He seemed a little smug, if you didn’t mind mentioning.

“Of course it is!” he stated. “We have eight residents, counting Papy and me with two more spare rooms! I’d say you won’t have trouble at all…with an exception of *ahem* speaking to Sans and the others about it…” His expression had turned a little indecisive when he said those few words before his skull brightened and he took your hands. “BUT I’M SURE THEY WON’T MIND!” He added.

“Really? I won’t be imposing?” You asked nervously. Blue and Papyrus nodded with excitement and you let out a deep breath. “O-okay, I guess I could give it a try…” You relented and for the fourth, or was it the fifth? time that day, you were lifted up and spun around by both the skeletons. Their excitement was contagious and you found yourself laughing along.

But you couldn’t leave just immediately. With a little help from Papyrus and Blue, you managed to track Tops down, who was serving up ‘Nice Cream’ in the local park not far away from where you were and told him about your situation, stating that you will be gone a while and if things go to your favor, you might move out. He simply laughed and sent you off with a…

“Sure, I’ll tell ‘lix.” And you chuckled along, wondering what the joke was. After that, you turned bought a Nice Cream, genuinely curious about the novelty of it. It was like any other ice-cream, though magic based and oh my, you even spotted a compliment on the wrapper.

‘ _Believe in yourself and your dreams will come true~_ ’

It was a little cheesy, but the minor coincidence had you cracking up. You went to join Blue and Papyrus who were politely waiting a short distance away, your tote slunk over your clavicle before you were dragged towards the parking lot where a shiny red convertible sat. You had stopped, startled by the sight of it, your mind connecting the pieces that it was Papyrus’ car.

“Jeez, how did you get such a sweet ride?” You chuckled, eagerly getting into the backseat and feeling the fabric of the seats at the tips of your phalanges. Papyrus puffed his chest up in pride, scarf fluttering from his place at the driver’s wheel, Blue riding shotgun.

“The great Papyrus always had wonderful tastes in his choice with vehicles.” He replied and Blue, determined not to be left out turned to look at you with a huge grin on his skull.

“I have a motorcycle; it’s as magnificent as I am. A pity I couldn’t bring it along while shopping but you may feast your eyes on it once we arrive at our home!” He said and you had a feeling you were included in the ‘our’ in his sentence. The thought made you smile giddily before it slowly faded as the car swerved out of the parking lot and drove up the street.

Your chances of getting a room in Blue and Papyrus’ place rested on whether their other roommates agreed to let you stay. You didn’t know how they were and what they were like so you decided to prep yourself for the worst. It was best you didn’t get your hopes up either in case they reject you flatly. Drumming your phalanges over your kneecaps, you watched as the streets blurred by outside.

Your now recovered beanie was stuffed into your pocket lest it gets blown away by the powerful gusts of wind that slapped over your skull. You ended up zoning out of Blue and Papyrus’ banter, your SOUL pulsing nervously. The scenery slowly changed and turned greener as the car ventured towards the outskirts of the city, closer to a wood that bordered the mountain. The houses grew scanty and you wondered if this was where Papyrus and Blue stayed, your body jerking to the side when the car made a sharp turn.

“I apologize!” Papyrus called out as the car slowed to a stop before a literal manor. You almost fell forward at how huge it was, bigger than any other house you had encountered. Staggering out of the car, you looked at the house with wide eye-sockets, scanning the windows. You caught sight of a skeletal figure at one of them, leaning out from the one on the third floor.

You waved at them and you swore a smirk played on their skull as they waved back. They balanced a cigarette between their fingers, letting out a puff of coiling, purple smoke. You watched fascinated as Blue and Papyrus motioned to you.

“This way!” Papyrus whooped, running up the drive. There were three more vehicles parked there, one black convertible and two motorbikes, one being cobalt blue and the other deep purple. Blue glanced up at the skeleton at the window and sighed with exasperation, one hand finding itself on his hip while the other waggled a finger at them condescendingly.

“RUS! You know the rules! No smoking in the house! Do you want me to call Black?” he called out and the skeleton—Rus chuckled, putting out the cigar and holding up their hands in surrender. His gaze followed you in, mildly surprised and interested and you tensed your shoulders, stuffing your hands into your hoodie pockets.

The front door swung open and you entered the living room, a wide spacious area that was well lit. Hanging behind Blue, Papyrus tromped through across the room disappearing behind a wall while the shorter skeleton sat you down on one of the couches.

“Don’t look so worried.” He assured. “If the magnificent Blue likes you, why wouldn’t anyone else?”

You grinned nervously in response. “Thanks, even though I really feel like barfing right now, even though I have no stomach.” You muttered clutching the tote bag nervously. There was a shuffle and Papyrus entered the room again, your name being called bringing your attention to him.

“MEET MY BROTHER!” he introduced the new occupant, yet another skeleton. “Sans, we met her at the store! Do you think we could spare her a room?” The new skeleton simply stared at you with genuine shock across his skull.

“Holy shi-”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmmmm....what's this I see? Blue suspects you guys. 
> 
> *Dramatic gasp*
> 
> [Check out and follow me on my Tumblr!](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/larentia-ray09)


	4. You're welcomed into the chaos with absolutely no plan on you.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So...you nearly get impaled....

Sans sat across you as you gratefully munched a few half burnt cookies, watching you with flickering white eyelights. You had an inkling that he was beyond surprised with his initial reaction, seeing you seated on the couch. He had a friendly smile on his skull though it was underlined by suspicion, you had noticed. He obviously doesn’t trust you.

Sans was around Blue’s height if not a little taller and coincidentally enough, his skull had a few similar traits to the peppy skeleton as well, though his features were softer, lazier, more relaxed and tired. He didn’t put much to his attire, just a simple white shirt that was wrinkled, black basketball shorts with a single white line travelling down the front and a blue hoodie. Pink bedroom slippers were his choice of footwear.

_Fuzzy, pink bedroom slippers._

“So you want a room?” he repeated, Blue and Papyrus having explained the details when you were stress eating the first plate of burnt cookies. You nodded sheepishly, emerald eyelights darting to the side. To say you were nervous was an understatement. You felt like you were being hung by your leg over a tank filled with hungry laser shooting sharks.

“Yeah…pretty much.” you replied. “I…I understand if you’re not ready to give me one, especially with how I’m just rudely barging into your lives like this-” You were cut off by a chuckle and you looked up to see Sans grinning at you lazily, one of his hands nestled in his hoodie pocket while the other was held up to cut you off.

“Kid, _tibia_ honest, I have nothing against you moving in.” he stated and you almost sighed with relief, cracking up a little at the pun before he continued. “I’m…uh more concerned about how my…cousins would react to this whole thing. They’re a really eccentric bunch, in case you’re wondering. Maybe a bit overwhelming too…”

And there’s the nervousness again.

“Overwhelming, how?” you squawked out and Sans shrugged nonchalantly.

“Eh, to a point where they’d probably dangle you off of the top floor of a really high building.” He replied and your anxiety spiked. “Besides, some of them are…abrasive.” He caught on to the desperate, almost hopeless look in your eyelights and his smile softened. He might have realized too late that you were a little stunned.

You barely managed to squeak out the words, “If that’s the case then maybe it’s best I don’t-” when Sans held up his hands, almost _desperately_ (suspicious) and shook his head, a soft chuckle ringing in his voice.

“Aw jeez, kid that was just a joke!” He stated, trying to ease you. You blinked, not exactly seeing how his previous statement was _hilarious_ in any way. This guy’s sense of humor was seriously skewed in that way. Twining your fingers together, you rubbed the back of your cervical vertebra and smiled weakly.

“Then, uh…will they be okay with me staying…at least for now?” You asked, your own desperation getting the better of you. Sans shrugged, shoulders relaxed.

“You know what? How ‘bout you take a tour round the place and meet up with a few of them? Try to see if you can win their favor and if we decided you’re a keeper, you can stay.”

~~Oh my god, bless this sweet, lazy bag of bones!~~

You almost shrieked with happiness, rising to your feet immediately with the stupidest smile on your face. “Thank you so much! I mean…that sounds great!” You said with a chipper tone to your voice. Sans chuckled as Papyrus took you by your hand and led you through the living room, his enthusiasm rolling out of him in waves.

“Oh, I do hope you can stay!” he whispered (loudly) before he draped his arm around your clavicle. “Just you wait, my skeleton friend! The great Papyrus is guaranteed to give you such an amazing first impression to my cousins, they’ll want nothing more than you to stay here!” You giggled as he led you to the kitchen, a real one, not a kitchenette like the one in Felix’s apartment.

“This, of course is the kitchen where the great Papyrus practices his art of spaghetti making.” He said, waving grandly at the room. It was certainly something to look at, a large iron colored fridge pushed to a corner. The counters were spotless and immaculate while a few high seating chairs were positioned before a polished black surface, overlooking the kitchen. There were more pots and pans and other cooking instruments you couldn’t even name hung up on pegs.

“That’s…woah…” you choked out with awe at the sheer size of it. The rest of the bottom floor contained an arcade where Papyrus said that Rus, the skeleton at the window spent most of his time in. The arcade was actually a large room with another flat-screen T.V and a bunch of gaming connected to it, a ping pong table and a few other miscellaneous items but you still took the space in. there was also a gym, that Papyrus seemed to be especially fond of.

“Of course, I must train as hard as I can if I wish to join the Royal Guard someday, so this room provides adequate exercise. If I wish to train on combat, I move on to the grounds outside and try not to destroy most of the shrubbery.” He said and you blinked with alarm, half wondering how destructive magic was. How did it work anyway?

You had to read up about it; asking any other monster would be too risky.

There was also a basement, though Papyrus didn’t really show you what was within its walls. Instead, he took you upstairs to the second floor of the three story building where the first six bedrooms were. They were all occupied, so you decided that the third floor was where you had to stay should you get lucky.

“This, is where the great Papyrus sleeps!” Papyrus declared, pointing at a door that was covered with police tape and warning signs. There was another similarly decked door across it, obviously Blue’s and one more at the end of the hall.

You flinched when one of the doors creaked opened and an orange hoodie clad skeleton shuffled out, stopping at the sight of you. He nearly dropped the cigar he was smoking with alarm at the sight of you.

“Stretch! Meet our new potential roommate!” Papyrus exclaimed, pushing you forward so that he had a better view of you. Stretch resembled Papyrus though his skull seemed more fatigued and worn. He pulled out his cigar, blowing out orange smoke as he scanned you and you scanned him in return. He was dressed and held himself similarly to Sans, in an orange hoodie, cargo shorts and green crocs. He seemed a little quieter though.

~~You needed to stop thinking that he was just like the smiling skeleton. He was a completely different person.~~

You held out your hand and told him your name. Stretch eyed it wearily before a raspy chuckle escaped him and he took it, the sound of a party horn being blown out catching you off guard. Behind you Papyrus groaned over the other skeleton’s laughter.

“Nyehehe, nice to meet you hon. The name’s Stretch.” He introduced. “I’m Blue’s bro.” he seemed a little more relaxed now. He transferred his gaze to Papyrus. “This one too or…?”

“Blue and I met her at the store.” Papyrus explained and you almost frowned with curiosity and Stretch’s cryptic question. What did he mean? The hoodie clad skeleton chuckled again, his slouched frame towering over you. You decided to let go of that thought, mulling more over the fact that where the blue clad skeleton had run off to.

“They helped me shop for some clothes.” You added. “Though they were strongly averse to a certain shirt I picked out…” Your eyelights darted to Papyrus and you were glad to receive the reaction you expected. He threw his arms into the air with a loud ‘NYEH!’ and looked half inclined to stomp out of there.

“For stars sake, that shirt wasn’t even funny! The only thing that worse in that pile was the pajamas with the dancing skeletons!” he exclaimed and you grinned, Stretch snorting with mirth.

“But those were a nice pair!” you whined playfully. Papyrus huffed, crossing his arms.

“EVEN! SO!” he declared. Stretch wheezed from his spot of the hall, leaning against the wall for support. You felt a pang of pride in your ribcage, happy with your accomplishment as he straightened up, wiping away a fake tear. Papyrus looked mutinous at this point.

“Eh, you seem like a nice gal. Hope you get to stay, ‘specially with that taste in clothes you have. I bet it’s absolutely _humerus_.” He stated and you choked with laughter at the second pun you heard that day while Papyrus screeched, stomping childishly in place. You let him fume for a couple more minutes and he finally calmed down.

“Where are Edge and Red? I haven’t seen them around…” Papyrus enquired, eyes darting to the end of the hall where the last two doors were situated. Stretch shrugged, his orange eyelights darting towards them. He stuffed his hands into his hoodie pocket and blew out another puff of orange smoke.

“No clue, don’t care.” He drawled. “Edge probably went out to recalibrate those traps of his and ended up dragging Red along in the process. Look out for them, hon; they’re pretty jittery around new faces.” He advised and you found yourself getting nervous as well. Stretch sauntered past you, stopping to give you a strange, almost untrusting look before moving on. Then, he was just…gone.

“Jittery?” you repeated to yourself as Papyrus guided you to the top floor where the last four bedrooms were.

“Well, err…yes, they can tend to be rather violent. At least Edge does... when he ended up boring a hole into the kitchen wall in an angry fit.” Papyrus replied and you felt your eye-sockets widen before he perked up. “But I’d say they are getting better now at NOT wrecking things.”

“That’s…nice.” You mumbled, half afraid of meeting these two skeletons. You passed by the first door and heard a soft shuffle inside. As if on cue, one the door opened again and Rus slipped out, shooting you a wink. You shied back behind Papyrus, not exactly trusting the new yet familiar face as much whilst stifling back an alarmed squawk that nearly escaped your teeth. Once again, you were met with another specimen that resembled the tall skeleton that blocked most of you.

Rus took on a few attributes from Stretch, only…edgier with his choice in clothing; a black fur lined hooded jacket and a purple turtleneck. A spiked collar hung from his vertebrae and he donned baggy cargo pants and purple sneakers. His entire posture screamed ‘bad boy’ and you were slightly put off by the scar that traversed up his left eye and the gold fang that was fitted over his sharp teeth.

“’Sup.” He drawled with a slight accent. “Caught the cutie on the driveway. She here ta snag a room, huh?” His purple eyelight focused on you. “Don’t ya know how ta greet a new pal, sweets? Shake my hand.” He held out a gloved hand and you stepped forward, taking it. He delivered a firm shake. “I won’t bother ta introduce m’self. Ya must’ve heard Blue screech it out fer the ends of the earth ta hear.”

You actually found yourself smiling, giving him your name. Rus brightened up a little, leaning lazily against the wall despite Papyrus’ protests.

“Oh please refrain from leaning against the wall, Rus! You may damage the wallpaper. You know how expensive the whole restoration of this place was!” He chided, but the lanky skeleton didn’t budge, his eye-sockets shutting as a snore sounded out. “NYOHOHO! WHY MUST SO MANY OF YOU BE SO UNCOOPERATIVE!” Papyrus moaned, turning to address you. “I hope you aren’t put off by his behavior!”

You glanced at Rus who was chuckling silently, even though his eye-sockets remained shut. Papyrus didn’t notice however, moving forward, so you bent over him. “You got him all _bleary_ eyed, you know.” You chuckled, delivering your half assed joke. You weren’t the type who cracked puns, but it felt right at the moment.

~~Either that or you caught some unnamed virus from one of the jokesters.~~

“Not bad, sugar.” Rus sniggered, cracking open his good socket and shooting you a subtle finger gun while at that precise moment, the next door slammed open and another skeleton stepped out.

Papyrus started and so did you as static filled the air, suffocating you. You looked into the angry eyelights of the newcomer and took in his appearance. His hues were a rich purple like Rus’ and he too strongly resembled Sans but with sharper, sterner features. Three jagged scars travelled down his right socket.

Unlike the other members of the household who were decked in casuals, this one wore formal attire, purple hand gloves along with a tattered purple bandanna to finish the appearance. He didn’t look happy; the exact opposite—he was colossally pissed off (and you idly wondered if that was how he always looked).

“Why the fuck is there such a racket outside my room?” he snapped, his eyelights trailing to you. He stopped, shock drowning out his annoyance. “Y-you’re a…is this some sort of elaborate joke?! Has that damn idiot dragged another one into this damn fray?!?!?!”

You started back, surprised at his sudden outburst. Another one? What was this guy talking about? Black seemed to have caught on to your confusion and he tensed ever so slightly, purple eyelights scanning you for a second before clicking his tongue with a mild blush.

“Calm down, M’lord. Yer scarin’ her.” Rus stated, smirking at you before he vanished into thin air, like how Stretch did. Black rolled his eyelights, ready to storm back into the room again when Papyrus piped up from the side.

“Err…Black?” Papyrus called out and the stern skeleton snapped his skull to him, eyelights crackling.

“What?!” he barked. Papyrus looked a little put off, but he still wore his cheerful demeanor, motioning to you.

“Do you approve of her staying with us? She desperately needs a home, you see and well…it would be cruel if we turn her down, right?” Papyrus coaxed, walking to you and settling his hands on your scapula. You looked at the stern skeleton, Black, if that was his name with a slightly pleading look. His purple eyelights darted to you before he grumbled under his breath, a slightly uncomfortable look on his skull.

“I wouldn’t care less if another is thrown into this mess. Just as long as she stays out of my way, she is free to come reside here.” He replied before retreating into his room and slamming the door shut. You now began to dwell on the similarities in the skeleton’s appearances. While it was mentioned that they were cousins, the fact that they came in sibling sets with a few sporting swapped personalities had you suspiciously thinking that there may be more than meets the eye-socket here.

~~But hey, it wasn’t like they were alternate versions of each other, right?~~

~~RIGHT?!~~

“That’s wonderful! Now, all we need is Red and Edge to approve and you can move in with us!” Papyrus declared, pushing you gently to one of the rooms. “How about you choose between these two bedrooms and see which one you like the best.” He ushered you to one of the doors and threw it open, allowing you to feast your eyes on the interior.

This one spoke to you with its navy walls. You ventured inside, taking in the large springy bed, the desk and bookshelves. The bathroom was well kept and rather fancy, like the one in Felix’s house. You decided that this place would do just nicely and you turned to Papyrus with a grin on your face. “This one is perfect!” you exclaimed. He looked a little surprised at your straight answer.

“But you haven’t seen the other one!” he pointed out. You shook your head, stepping back and shutting the door.

“I’m happy with this one, thank you.” you assured, happy with how things were turning out. You just hoped you’d be allowed to stay as the two of you raced down the stairs. Papyrus met up with Blue who was on his way to the kitchen and decided to make a late lunch. They scampered into the kitchen and you were left in the living room. You felt a little tired and Sans, who was lay on one of the couches seemed to notice, his white eyelight shining a little brighter.

“Heh. How ‘bout you catch a breather, kid. I don’t think edgy duo#1 is gonna come around any time soon.” He offered and you gratefully took the vacant couch, kicking off your shoes and laying yourself down, resting your weary bones.

“Thanks, Sans.” You mumbled out. “For the napping opportunity. And the chance.” You saw him smile from the corner of your vision before your own eye-sockets shut. For a few moments, you were still awake. Why the hell did everyone you meet so far bear a faint resemblance to each other? This called for an investigation…

And you were asleep once more, finding yourself floating in that void of darkness before more of your memories started rushing in. You still couldn’t remember them when they passed.

But there was one thing.

A knife.

Were you killed? By whom? You didn’t know, but the thought was sickening. Why would someone want to kill in the first place? Whatever the reason was, your subconscious could just make out a hum and a couple of noises call out. There was static again and you felt uncomfortable, the magic blurring your senses and your eye-sockets flew open, you falling off the couch in a state of disorientation.

_SLICE!! THWACK!!!!!_

At just in time too as a scarlet bone shot out lodged itself on the couch, the very spot you were napping in half a second after you fell off. Staring at the pulsing weapon, you began to edge away before another bone whizzed through the air and struck next to you, just missing your hand. Normally, you would have been pretty awed and fascinated at the sheer coolness of this whole thing, but you were nearly impaled so…

“HOLY FUCKING SHIT!!!” you screeched, eyelights darting towards the attacker, a tall skeleton who resembled papyrus but with sharper features. His scarlet eyelights screamed death and you felt cold terror grip your SOUL. The new skeleton was taller than the other residents in the house, probably because of those killer heels he sported and the scars over his left eye-socket rivalled Black’s out of which, scarlet smoke seemed to haze out.

~~It looked pretty cool, but you were nearly killed so…~~

His dress scheme was mainly black, clothes looking like it came straight out of Hot Topic, save for a tattered red scarf, with a black turtleneck sweater and a black ranger jacket. He sported black skinny jeans with deep red boots and gloves like Papyrus. Only, one, this guy didn’t look half as friendly as him and two, he tried to kill you in your sleep.

~~Axe murderer alert.~~

“Who are YOU?!” he screeched, pointing at you as your surroundings flickered between color and monochrome. Your Soul began to keen against your ribs as you backed away in hopes you can escape.

“Ah…w-well…c-could y-you…uh, p-put t-the…bone a-away?” You tried to speak out but most of it came out as choked speech. The edgy skeleton raised a brow, his frown intensifying in distaste as he let out a scoff, taking a step forward.

“And why on earth would I do that?” He demanded. “How do I know you won’t attack the moment I let my guard down, not that the great and terrible Edge cannot defend himself!” You blinked, wondering where on earth the others were. No wonder Stretch warned you…this guy was a maniac! You were far too lost in thought to notice the other presence enter the room.

“Boss, she’s the new tenant.” Another skeleton spoke up and you started, gaze landing on the next skeleton in view. He too looked like he came straight out of a Hot Topic magazine with his contrasting red, gold and black color scheme. He glanced at you, smiling dangerously, showing off his glistening gold fang, not unlike Rus’. “Heya, sweetheart.” He greeted and you felt your cheekbones flush at his suggestive behavior.

You were already put off by his size. While Sans was broad built, this guy was…bigger…sporting a red turtleneck that was partly covered by a large black fur lined hoodie-jacket with gold trim. He wore a pair of black basketball shorts with two gold lines passing down the front. Like Rus, he too sported a gold tooth and you wondered where and how on earth he lost it in the first place along with a red spiked collar.

In short, both skeletons looked like they were dragged through hell and back.

Edge snapped his skull at Red, you presumed, then back at you, scrutinizing you with those smoldering scarlet eyelights of his. You swore his jaw twitched with annoyance as he watched you with his tense stance. You didn’t dare to move, half afraid you might get impaled.

“NYAH! AND I’M JUST EXPECTED TO BELIEVE THAT?!” he shrieked and you and Red flinched at the sheer volume his voice imbibed as he motioned at you ferociously. “HOW DO I KNOW SHE ISN’T SOME SEDUCTRESS TRYING TO WORM HER WAY INTO MY LODGING DISGUISED AS A SKELETON?!”

_Huh?!_

_Was this guy for real?!_

Edge seemed to catch on to your speechlessness and interpreted it the wrong way, a smirk making way to his sharp teeth. You looked at Red with wide, frantic sockets and he glanced back, a mildly apologetic look on his skull that was drowned out by pride aimed at the taller skeleton. “NYAHAHA! Silence from the seductress! It could only mean my theory rings true; the intellectual prowess of the great and terrible Edge precedes himself once again and-”

You heard your name being called out as Blue practically ran into the room; his eyelights having morphed into stars like back in the supermarket. You wondered if that was something every skeleton could pull off. Edge’s jaws clicked shut with an audible ‘click’ while you nearly sighed with relief as the peppy skeleton came to your rescue.

“I made some lunch and was wondering if you’d like to join us…” he explained turning to Edge. “Ah! Brother Edge, you and Red have come just in time; we’re about to take a vote on whether my new friend here can stay in one of the spare rooms.” He greeted and Edge seemed to fume at the innocent comment. You cringed back expecting the worst as sweat began to bead on Red’s skull.

“Now, boss, ya don’t hafta blow up ‘bout somethin’ like this, right…? I-” he began before Edge delivered a clean smack over the shorter skeleton’s skull. Blue started back when he pointed at him with fury in his scarlet eyelights.

“Don’t CALL ME YOUR BROTHER!” he snarled, tensing up and tramping through the living room. He shot you a long, angry glare, then proceeded upstairs. When he disappeared from sight, you quickly got to your feet and scrambled to Red who watched after his fuming brother, posture tense. His skull had colored purple from where he was struck and you cringed.

“A-are you okay?” You asked, eyeing the bruise. How could skeletons even bruise in the first place? It looked painful and despite the slight wince he let out, Red winked with a shaky smile that was coated with slight surprise.

“Nah, don’t worry ‘bout me, sweetheart.” He replied. “The boss gets pretty worked up sometimes; I get this a lot.”

The answer was supposed to pacify you.

Instead you were twice as horrified.

“YOU MEAN THIS IS NORMAL?!?!” you nearly screeched if it weren’t for Blue quickly darting forward and covering your mouth with his gloved hand. Red looked a little uncomfortable, crimson eyelights darting to the sides quickly. You tried to struggle out of Blue’s grip before you gave up realizing what his motives for the action was. Edge was still in the house and you couldn’t risk him hearing you.

“Lunch is almost ready.” He declared with a chipper tone, letting you go. He eyed Red’s bruise with slight concern. “There’s some candy in the kitchen. I think you should-”

“No thanks.” Red cut in gruffly, padding to the dining room to seat himself at one of the chairs. You watched after him, metaphorical gut twisting with nausea and anger. You were the type of person who believed in what was right and you knew this wasn’t something you could just snub. But you couldn’t make a scene out of it; not yet anyway with your chances hanging here by a thread.

“Come on…” Whispered Blue, his voice more mellow and gentle rather than its usual loud pitch. You nodded mutely following him into the dining room and seating yourself on one of the vacant seats. Blue sat across you, sending you a reassuring smile that almost made you feel better. Your anger was drowned by your nervousness as more skeletons piled into the room, all of their gazes focusing solely on you.

~~Maybe you could bolt when they aren’t looking at you because there is no way in hell you were staying here. You didn’t have a cellphone though…how on earth were you supposed to contact Felix?!~~

Sans shuffled into a corner seat though he didn’t sit down just yet. The mellow skeletons were either smiling or simply staring at you while the edgier ones flat out ignored you or glared daggers at your Soul. You hunched your clavicles, slightly nervous; you were torn between wanting to stay here or just changing your mind. A titter rose up around the table when the food was served out and you dug in immediately, the aroma making your mouth water.

The lasagna was inedible though, mostly because shards of broken glass stuck out of it.

“Quit cracking those bad jokes at the table, brother!”

“NYEH! Who’d like some spaghetti?”

“Spaghetti? Pah! I’d say my amazing lasagna is worth ten of your tasteless pasta!”

“Shut up. Your bratty gloating is giving me a headache.”

“So, ya think she’s a keeper?”

“She ain’t that bad…”

“How ‘bout you pass the honey, bro and I’ll think about it.”

The conversations almost overwhelmed you until Sans cleared his throat, the skeleton’s attention snapping towards him. “As you guys can see, we have a new skeleton amongst our midst.” Sans began, scanning every skull. “And she’s gonna need a place to stay.” Edge scoffed, crossing his arms. You knew you didn’t have his vote and to your slight surprise, you didn’t really mind. “All of you’ll must have had some sort of conversation with her, so we’re casting a vote. Who’s in favor of her staying with us?”

“Me, ooh! ME!” Papyrus yelled with enthusiasm, gloved hand waving wildly; he accidently hit Rus in the head and his skull thwacked against the tabletop, staying there. A snore rang out of him and Black sighed with fatigue, pinching his nasal bone.

“She had my vote from the start.” Blue declared smugly, his bright smile widening. Stretch chuckled, shrugging nonchalantly.

“Well, she’s a decent kid. I’d say why not?” he replied, his raspy smokers voice ringing through the air. You smiled at him when he turned to look at you and the smile was returned with a lazy ‘nyehehe’ as he slouched lower into his chair. The attention was turned to Black whose eyelights darted towards you as he sipped his champagne.

“When was the last time I actually cared about something like this?” He drawled out purposefully and you flinched. That was a little harsh, but at least he didn’t flat out reject you. The comment however drew in a few raised brows while Rus shifted his head to the side, snoring receding. His voice came out muffled.

“If m’lord’s fine with it, then I guess I am too.” He stated, glancing to you, shooting you a bold wink. You choked on the water you were sipping nervously. You were definitely stress eating at this point and Sans seemed to have noticed, an amused smile on his skull. The skeleton’s gazes turned to Edge who seemed a little affronted by the votes going to your favor.

His scarlet gaze swept across the room, landing on you. Every skeleton’s eyelights with you and Red as exceptions bore down on him and he crossed his arms haughtily, eye-socket twitching with annoyance. “FINE!!! Oh, stars you’re all IDIOTS for dragging me into this.” He snapped, pointing at you aggressively. You screeched when he addressed you directly. “YOU! If my suspicions of you do turn out true, YOU’LL BE OUT OF HERE HALF!! DUSTED!! UNDERSTAND???!!!” 

Silence ensued as everyone stared at him with incredulity. Did he just cast a vote in your favor then threaten to kill you after doing so? You almost wanted to send him a snarky reply, point out that he was wrong the whole time to begin with. Instead you nodded, mouth full with the taco you had bitten into. Red blinked, sweating bullets as he shrugged.

“W-well, boss’ is…fine with it so-” He was cut off again.

“I am certainly NOT fine with the female residing with us!” Edge denied flatly. Stretch sighed leaning forward while Black proceeded to massage his temples and pour in another glass of champagne. He blew out a gust of orange smoke, a smirk curving up his mouth.

“If you’re not okay with it, why give her the chance to begin with?” he tested. Edge narrowed his eye-sockets with annoyance and an embarrassed blush lit up his cheekbones.

“HA! WELL…err…THE TERRIBLE EDGE KNOWS BEST TO KEEP HIS ENEMIES…NEAR FOR…SURVEILLANCE!” he professed leaping to his feet and placing a booted foot on the seat of his chair, nonexistent wind fluttering his tattered scarf. If you weren’t so put off, you would have snorted with hilarity. “Nothing short to expect from a cunning schemer like me! The female won’t even see it coming. NYAHAHA!”

“Uhh…I’m right here you know.” You muttered but he seemed to have heard the comment you uttered under your breath, startling you completely when his skull snapped towards you.

“SO? WHY??? SHOULD??? I??? CARE???” he demanded, gritting each word out. Stretch seemed to be chuckling under his breath, Red sweating nervous bullets once again. You tried to find an appropriate answer.

“I…heard your whole…scheme…?” You pointed out and something seemed to snap in the edgy skeleton. His gloved hands flew to his head and he let out a loud ‘NYAAAAH!’ before sitting down violently, fuming. If you didn’t know any better, you’d have thought he was pouting. The other skeletons ignored him, allowing him to fume and from the corner of your eye, you saw Black drain the contents of the whole glass, the once full bottle now notably empty.

***He looks emotionally, physically and mentally tired of this shit.**

“Uh…as I was sayin’…if boss’…lettin’ her stay, then I can live with it.” Red muttered out quietly, back stiff. You glanced at Sans, hope sparking in your Soul as he shrugged looking over at you with his white eyelights.

“Welp, that’s that then.” He decided. “Welcome to the chaos, kid.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...hehe yeah. I'm not exactly as glad with how this chapter turned out. I'm currently caught up with 'Life Issues' as one would term it, so I'm afraid updates may slow. I hope you guys don't mind as much...(sorry)
> 
> [My Tumblr awaits all you readers!!!](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/larentia-ray09)  
> I post art and several other shit (though i haven't been all that active). If any of you peeps have any questions to ask me, feel free to drop by and ask! I JUST configured my account to accept asks and submissions after going so long with the setting not being calibrated accordingly...
> 
> _I'm such an idiot..._


	5. You move in with more stability but less logic.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You have a moment with Red and Rus and try settling in. Emphasis on _try_.

“How much is the rent at that place again?” Felix asked, ear flicking dismissively while he scrolled through his phone. You flopped over on the couch, still trying to recover from your existential crisis and told him the price, a loud, exaggerated groan following soon after. Your clothes were crumpled from your constant nervous tugging and fiddling, the careless movement you had just performed worsening the current state.

“How on earth am I supposed to pay for it?!” You exclaimed, rolling over again and facing Felix. He shrugged, gold eyes never leaving his device. You felt a spark of annoyance flare out in your Soul and you sat up, twining your finger bones together. “Felix? I could really use some insight and other stuff right now…”

“Well, the pay isn’t as high as most of the other places.” He pointed out. You lapsed to silence, quietly agreeing. It was true, while you had panicked over the casual passing over the room’s rent, Sans had also pointed out that little titbit which left you…well, you weren’t in any different state actually. A remark was almost about to pass through your teeth when you stopped, a light bulb going off in your metaphorical brain.

“Just…um, is your workplace hiring?” You asked suddenly. If you didn’t have it before, you certainly had Felix’s attention now, eyes flashing.

“Yeah, no. You’re not working there.” He stated flatly, an icy edge in his tone. Your brow furrowed with confusion at his passive aggressiveness.

“Why not? You say it pays well, right?” was the half-hearted retort.

“You want to end up like me, buddy?”

You blinked, then hung your skull. You couldn’t really argue with that kind of logic. Instead, you played your cards differently, pulling your legs closer to your ribcage. “No, but I also don’t want to keep depending on you…on anyone to satisfy what I need. If I want to stand on my own two feet, I need money and to have money, I need a job and to gain a job, I need to look for one and to look for one I have to stand on my own two feet!”

You threw your arms in the air to emphasize your point, drawing out a soft sigh from Felix.

“Talk about a skewed life, huh?” He droned out. You shut your eye-sockets with an audible click.

“Well, at least I don’t have to pay until I get a job.” You mumbled, falling back on the couch again. “It still feels so wrong…”

*

“Even though you only stayed with us for two days, I’m gonna miss you.” Tops chuckled, pulling you into a hug while Felix simply hung back, smoking his cigar. You wrapped your arms around the taller bunny the best you could, grinning widely at the blue bunny monster. Tops separated and you moved on to the cat monster. He gave you a onceover and sighed.

“They know about your situation?” he asked. You shook your head sheepishly.

“I’ll tell them when I’m ready.” You replied silently. Felix almost looked disapproving then sighed, patting your head in an almost affectionate gesture. You smiled weakly.

“I guess I could respect that.” He replied. “And that job you needed…” he added. “There’s an opening at Bratty and Catty’s. They’re insured by the toaster so the pay is pretty good.” Your smile widened and you nodded your skull. Perhaps out of all the numerous things you needed so far, it was a decent job that wasn’t going to drain out your sentiments and leave you questioning your life choices.

(And of course, it was like lady luck decided to abandon your helpless form and leave you with a case of amnesia)

_Thank you Felix, you asocial, apathetic anthropoid cat, you!_

“Cool, just point me the way.” You chirped, restraining the powerful urge to break down then and there with relief and hug him (of course you respected his personal space! Why wouldn’t you?). Felix sighed, whether from relief or tire, you couldn’t exactly tell.

“Great…then you better take this. It’s old, yeah but you’ll only draw more attention to yourself if you don’t have one.” He added, handing you a clunky old cellphone. Your breath was caught in your throat, the gesture having you stare up at him with shock. It wasn’t much, nothing like the sleek phone’s most of the monsters used, but you could still text, send and receive calls in them. “Just give me a call.

_God,_ Felix was like the older brother you really needed at this point.

If older brothers were grouchy, smoking apathetic cats. Maybe ‘grandpa’ was a better phrase for him. You stifled back a sudden chuckle that bubbled out at the thought sending him an expression that was dripping with gratitude. You _really_ needed this.

“Thanks.” You whispered, stuffing the phone into your pocket after you took note of your contact number. Felix and Tops’ contacts were already added and you smiled internally, grateful that the two monsters did so much to help you through this whole mess. You didn’t really have much on you, so moving in was a piece of cake, grabbing whatever clothes you brought.

You were wearing some of your newer clothes, the unspeakable shirt that had Blue and Papyrus screeching with protest with your jeans. You slipped on your new pair of sneakers and your dark grey hoodie and stepped out of the house. Sans was downstairs waiting for you and you ran down to join him; he was nice enough to escort you to his lodge, though how, you had no clue.

You decided not to question his logic.

“You ready?” he asked and you nodded.

“Yeah. I have everything I need.” You replied, motioning to the tote bag. Sans eyed it with suspicion, then back at you. You hoped he wasn’t going to ask you anything that would blow your cover. Should you tell him about your situation? You thought you should, but you didn’t know how.

I mean, how can you tell him that you were pretty sure you were initially human and you had died, floated through a void of nothingness for god knows how long, was sucked into an invisible vortex and spat out here as a skeleton without sounding crazy?

Maybe you could try to find a way. You didn’t want to keep lying about this whole thing, you soul just…didn’t allow it. So, you nervously took Sans’ outstretched hand and he pulled you into one of his infamous ‘shortcuts’, leaving you thoroughly rattled when you landed on the other side safely; the destination being the living room.

You felt dizzy, the buzzing feeling ringing through your head. To say you were disorientated was an understatement at that moment. You were pretty sure that if you had a stomach, you would have puked out the breakfast you had at Tops and Felix’s place by now. Thank god you didn’t.

“You okay, kid?” Sans called out and you made out a hint of concern in his baritone. You squeezed your eye-sockets shut, then opened them again, the nausea and vertigo abating a little.

“Yeah, I’m good.” You said, rubbing the back of your skull nervously, his white gaze setting you off a little. He blinked, then chuckled softly, hands tugging the soft blue fabric of his hoodie. You noticed it looked pretty faded; how long has he been wearing it?

“Heh, everyone feels like that through their first shortcut, so there isn’t anything you should be worried about.” He stated and you managed out a smile. He knew what he was doing, you reminded yourself. At least he was nice enough to give you a heads up about pulling you through that shortcut.

“Thanks for the ‘lift’.” You said sincerely and Sans smiled pulled up a little more at the corner, crinkling his eye-sockets ever so slightly; the whole expression now more genuine.

Setting your tote on a chair, you looked around the place that would be your new home, taking in its every detail meticulously. You noticed from the corner of your vision that Sans was staring at you and you averted your eyelights when the T.V suddenly flickered on. If you hadn’t known any better, you would have said this place was haunted.

But then again, it was inhabited by skeletons.

Your emerald eyelights darted to the culprit.

Red was stretched up on the couch, flicking through channels and he glanced up, his crimson pinpricks landing on you for a moment. He shot you a toothy grin, sharp teeth glistening and quite frankly intimidating the shit out of you. Sans stuffed his hands into his pockets and nearly went on his way when your brain went on high alert.

“Uh, there’s something else I forgot to mention…” You muttered and the softer looking skeleton turned around with a relaxed grin. You faltered for a second, then shook your head with a smile.

“Ah, nothing. Sorry if I wasted your time.” You said albeit nervously.

_Coward!!!_

“Okaaay…sure.” Sans hummed with suspicion, turning around and trudging up the stairs. Then he stopped, turning to face you again with a huge grin. “Heh. Nice shirt.” He complimented and you glanced down at it. Ah right…of course he would notice it. So you humored him and struck a similar theatrical angle, only your hand positioned itself on the sternum.

“Your compliment is heartfelt. I am flattered.” You declared with mock sophistication. Sans sniggered, looking almost tempted to dish out a bad pun, but he thought over it, continuing on his ascent. You turned to Red who was now ignoring you, flicking between channels and finally landing on a rather interesting movie. You felt the back of your mind twinge and you suddenly had a feeling you’ve seen it before.

Damn amnesia. You were really beginning to hate it. Then there was that dream you had…something you actually remembered. You frowned to yourself; was life really cruel enough to hold back all the memories, the ones that lingered maddeningly just out of your reach, and subject you to remembering the bad ones.

Even though you could be an idiot sometimes, you knew for a fact that your death could have been planned, that you might have been targeted. You were murdered by someone…how and for what reason, you had no clue. That was the only possible lead you had so far on your previous life. Your death. Sighing you collected your tote and nearly left the room when Red turned to face you, scarlet eyelights crackling with intensity.

“Uh, hi!” you squeaked out, grinning. “How are you doing?” Your eyelights wandered to the welt on his head. It seemed to have calmed to a soft purple; having healed a little since yesterday. Red huffed gruffly.

“I’m fine, sweetheart.” He replied and you felt your skull flush at the pet name he chose for you. You stood there awkwardly for a few seconds and Red spoke up again. “Are you just gonna stand there or…?”

“Oh, uh…sorry.” You chuckled, eyelights glancing at the T.V screen. Red seemed to have noticed your momentary distraction and he let out a gruff huff, eyelights trained on you intensely. You shifted to the side, feeling a little awkward under his gaze. You glanced at the screen again. “So, you uh…watching a movie?” you asked. Red nodded wordlessly.

“Yeah. I am.” He replied. He paused for a second, then scooted to the side, eyelights still trained on the screen while his skull seemed to fall into an almost contemplative expression. “Come on, I haven’t all day.” He rasped out suddenly. You blinked with shock at the empty space beside him, then at him, then at the T.V.

“Huhhh???” You managed out, jaw dropping slightly with confusion. The rough skeleton sighed, twisting his spine so that he could turn to face you again, his arm draping on the backrest of the couch. His skull wore a look crossed between annoyance and amusement, a toothy grin making way through.

“Ya heard me. Ya wanna join? It’ll be fun-” he began and you clambered next to him before he could slip in a lewd comment that you plainly saw was coming, kicking off your shoes and hugging your legs closer into a fetal position. Red seemed a little pleased, a dry chuckle escaping his teeth. “Now quiet. I wanna watch this movie.” He stated. You snuggled in, eyelights on the screen.

Staying quiet didn’t really work out with the two of you. Fifty minutes in, you and Red were already cursing the protagonist for a colossally stupid thing he pulled off with his ‘lady love’.

“SERIOUSLY?! He freaking abandons her in the woods just because she was slowing him down?” You shrieked. “They were lost in the first place because he sucked at map-reading!” You turned to Red who looked tickled pink at your reaction. He held up a bony hand.

“Now just ya wait. The gal is gonna stick out on her own and survive this shit. I bet ya all my G that the guy is gonna come crawlin’ back ta her like some pathetic asshole and beg her ta take him back.” He predicted and you shrugged.

“If that’s the case, I hope they break up.” You stated as a matter of fact-ly. “He was a horrible boyfriend.”

The movie continued with the two of you dropping the occasional sarcastic comment, because seriously, you doubted you could get through with seeing the protagonist’s stupid face every time he popped up on screen and NOT say something that you know will scar his pride. But we have to remind you that, one, this was a movie, a complete work of fiction and that this guy never existed and two, yours and Red’s insults can’t reached the other side of the fourth wall—no matter what you try.

“HA! Take a bath you filthy animal.” You snapped at one point.

“Aww, does that hurt, ya big weiner? Well we don’t fuckin’ give a flyin’ fuck!”

“I’m glad he got stung by those bees.”

“He looks like some sort of hentai now, don’t ya think?”

“Oh ew. Hentai man. And here I thought he couldn’t get any worse.”

Red had let out a husky chuckle at your disgust, obviously reveling in it.

“It suits him, don’t ya’ think?”

“Oh, _definitely_.”

And as expected, Red was right, the protagonist having returned to his girlfriend who was somehow rounded up by a few natives that resided within the forest and was treated like some hunting goddess. To your immense satisfaction, he was driven out of the village, forced to sleep outside the high barriers erected. The movie ended with the two of them being saved by a passing helicopter and the ex-girlfriend wisely moved on.

“Ha! That’s what ya get ya jackass!” Red sneered at the screen as the credits started rolling in. You chuckled, having genuinely had fun while watching the movie with him. Red shot you a grin, gold fang once more glinting in your eyelights. “We should do this more often sweetheart.” He winked, rising from the couch and teleporting out of sight.

Leaving you a blushing mess at the very straightforward flirt.

_Damn hormones_ …did skeletons even have them?

You finally stood on your feet and shuffled up the stairs. Even though teleportation was disorienting and quite frankly, strange, you thought it was quite convenient for a person as lazy as Sans and maybe even Red, judging by how he sat on the couch like some sort of potato. You wished you could teleport up your new room and unpack, but of course, you couldn’t.

In fact, you weren’t entirely sure on how magic worked if by chance, you were able to harness it. That thought set you down in the dumps and you lugged your not-as-heavy-as-you-would-assume-but-still-heavy tote bag up the staircase, up to the third floor where you would be residing for god knows how long (Forever, maybe?) at least until you can get to the bottom of your current problem.

Was there a way to cure amnesia? Was this even temporary? Your thoughts set you on edge, the prospect of never getting back your memories; just living through your damned new life unable to recall if you had a family or friends or siblings.

You nearly ran into Edge who glared down at you, screeching out a derisive ‘WATCH IT!’ before stalking down the stairs. He had discarded his large red gloves this time, his hands now bare for you to notice tiny nicks and chips on the bone. After climbing the last flight, your eyelights darted in the general direction of your room door and you scampered towards it, desperate to get the weight off you.

Your boots were heavier than you thought. Either that or your new body left you as weak as shit.

Which didn’t really make sense—Papyrus and Blue picked you up and carried a whole trolley the previous day without so much as a look of unease on their skulls. They were strong physically, so how come you didn’t get the power boost? Heck, now that you think about it, a lot of the skeletons could do pretty cool stuff; teleportation, creating glow-in-the dark bones that could spear someone’s head off (not that you wanted to murder someone), even that weird eye-slowing thingy that seeped out of Edge’s eye-socket when he tried to ~~kill~~ confront you.

_Wow, you really did turn out to be a pretty shitty pile of bones, didn’t you?_

Turning the doorknob, you found yourself in your bedroom and you fought a smile, your freckled skull relaxing a little. You threw your tote and fell back on the bed, groaning with relief as the weight left your clavicle—this little moment couldn’t be ruined; just you, all alone, the fact that you were a skeleton almost escaping your head, your amnesia and that painful feeling of not being able to visit your memories forgotten. Nothing could ruin this moment.

But it could, of course.

And it did.

Sometimes you really cursed the veracity of Murphy’s Law and its very existence.

The door creaking got your attention and your skull snapped towards your room door with alarm. Rus was slouched at the doorway, a smirk on his teeth. “Mind if I let myself in?” he rasped out, his heavy smoker’s voice snapping you out of your train of thought. You got up abruptly, blushing like a lunatic and Rus chuckled, blatantly amused by your reaction.

“Oh, ha, okay sure.” You replied and the lanky skeleton stepped into the room, seating himself at the foot of the bed. Your shoes were kicked off, revealing bare, boney feet and Rus for some reason—an inside joke perhaps?—snickered when he saw them. “What?” You asked, aiming for an answer or a reason for his mirth and he shook his head.

“Don’t get insulted and all but…ya have tiny feet.” He replied. The casual line caught you off guard and you blinked slowly, registering the comment, then let out a very un-ladylike snort, your shoulders shaking. You stopped when you heard your bones begin to rattle and your eyelights shot up to Rus who had a soft purple blush dusted over his cheekbones. A moment of silence passed.

Then he began laughing.

“Holy shit—what are ya, a kid? I haven’t rattled like that since I was babybones.” He chuckled. “Angel, sugar. Ya really don’t know how adorable ya can be, huh?” His not-so-subtle flirt didn’t go unnoticed and you groaned, flopping your skull into your hands echoing out a tired ‘RUUUS’ while at it. What was up with skeleton’s taking it on to themselves to flirt with you? Did you have some sort of sign hanging off your back or something?

Rus let out a victorious smirk, turning to look at your tote bag. He regarded it for a moment, picking it up despite your protests and sticking his head into it. You had pretty much figured out at this point that he really had no regards for personal space.

“So, ya plan on unpackin’?” he asked, squinting at the meager amount of clothes in it. “This all ya have, sugar? That’s kinda depressin’.” He added. You felt alarm jolt through. You hoped he didn’t pry in too far. Please don’t ask any questions. Please don’t ask any questions…the mantra kept ringing in your skull. You tried to stifle back your distress and you let out a weak laugh.

“Yeah. I know it’s not much.” You stated. “But hey, it’s enough.” You glanced at his attire with a ghost of a grin, a cheeky idea in your head. “Besides, wasn’t that the same outfit you were wearing yesterday?” You pointed out. Rus glanced down at his purple turtleneck and smirked, lifting his legs onto the bed. To your relief, they were bare-footed; at least he had some decency to remove his shoes.

“The past two weeks.” He corrected lightly, flopping down and rolling over your sheets. You shrieked when the comment was digested, the fact that he was spreading his unknown man-skeleton-germs all over it sending your thoughts on haywire. Laying over and propping your upper body, you pushed your feet against his ribs and desperately tried to push him off.

“Rus, EW! Seriously, do any of you men have a sense of hygiene around here? I bet that brother of yours with the resting bitch face has a better sense of sanitation than you!” You exclaimed, grunting. Rus sniggered, somehow twisting his body to a point where he rolled to the side, avoiding your onslaught. His hoodie was mussed up and he stared at you with those purple eyelights of his.

“Aw shucks sugar? What’s a few weeks without a bath, huh?” He teased lightly. You narrowed your eye-sockets at his grinning face.

“And you have the nerve spreading your cooties all over my bed.” You grumped. Rus blinked, tilting his skull to the side with confusion and it struck you that you had just used a very human term at that moment. Laughing nervously, you tried to pry him off your bed but his curiosity seemed to get the better of him, slapping you across the skull.

“What’s a cootie?” he asked and you fell silent, slightly confused as well. His skull tilted to an angle, a very dog-like gesture that had your eyelights darting down to the collar. You tried to rack your mind for an answer, a hazy part of you wandering back into your memories. You were pretty certain ‘cooties’ was a sort of disease boys claimed girls had back when they were still in that phase when they thought girls were as attractive as frog spawn.

“Well…I…uh…I dunno.” You mumbled. Rus raised a brow and your internal screaming reached its peak at that point. Stars, You bet Rus was questioning your very sense of logic (it wasn’t that you weren’t smart. You were only smart at the most inconvenient of times and a total idiot when your brainpower was necessary) at this moment and an emerald blush settled on your cheekbones. You hunched forward, watching the skeletons jaws separate.

“Snrk…ya for real? Wow, sugar…” He asked, his violet eyelights crackling with shocking intensity. Then his mirth died away a little. “So…ya have any chocolate?” he asked and you almost (note, almost) fell forward with shock at the completely unrelated question he asked you. was everyone in this house eccentric in their own way?

If that’s the case, you had an inkling that you’d fit right in.

“No.” You replied apologetically and Rus shrugged, a purple tongue darting out and running down his gold ~~tooth~~ fang. You stared at it with fascination, mind wandering back to two days ago when you spotted a green tongue. It kept disappearing and reappearing, to your shock, when you were about to eat something and you actually used your head and connected the dots. From what you could garner, you could summon your tongue at times when you needed it.

Even though your current body was weird, it was still pretty cool.

“Eh, well, ya can’t win ‘em all.” Rus shrugged nonchalantly, his eyelights scanning you. He was barely here for ten minutes and the two of you were chatting about like you’d known each other for years. Felix had mentioned the previous night that monster Souls were made of Love, Hope and Compassion, which meant they bonded faster than a human would. You decided that was the reason why.

“Oh…and I’m sorry for accusing you for stalking me.” You added. Rus sniggered and waved his hand, signaling he didn’t mind.

From the next room, you heard and angry shout; probably from Black. Rus straightened up, his skull holding an amused smile and you wondered what the reason was.

“Welp, I think I hear M’lord callin’ me, sugar. Better go before he blows up…see ya.” He said and before you could manage out a goodbye, Rus rolled off the bed after winking at you once again, falling on the floor with a subtle ‘thump’. You scrambled to the edge to check and see if he was okay, greeted with the pattered carpet. Once again, the powers of teleportation had you bristling with both awe and nervousness.

Hopefully he isn’t warped enough to use said nifty ability to actively breach your privacy. The past two days were overwhelming enough being bombarded one after the other with magical skeletons, bunnies, cats and walking toasters. Your eyelights snapped to the shared wall between yours and Black’s room. Why did he choose the one on the top floor? Rooming in the second floor of this huge house would have been a lot easier, to your expertise.

But then again, you didn’t know Black enough to know his likes and dislikes.

Lunch wasn’t ready yet since you had noticed Blue and Papyrus were now absent in the house, so you decided to pass the time setting your room up the best you could. Sliding lazily off of the soft, comfortable mattress, you wiggled your tarsals and padded around the room, grabbing your clothes to arrange in the cupboard. There was only one in the room and you threw the doors open, arranging your clothes inside.

To your pleasant surprise there was even a drawer at the bottom, big enough for you to stuff your boots in and stuff your boots in was precisely what you did. Backing away, you stared at your scantily filled cupboard with immense pride. Look at you, you arranged your clothes without much of a mess. That really is something to gloat about to yourself, that’s for certain. Only it’s best you don’t mention it to your roommates—at least the more boisterous ones.

After that, you took to exploring the little odds and ends of your new room. The large, foldable (this had you squealing silently with excitement) desk that was in one corner of the room. The bookshelves that were fixed on the walls above it were bare of books and you mentally reminded yourself to gradually start buying a few just to fill that space up. Being in a new world probably meant a few more authors, though you couldn’t really be sure that there was much variance in the one that you came from and could barely remember and the one you were now residing in.

After a few other minor adjustments to fit your needs, you eyelights swept across the room and landed on the window, one of your favorite parts of it.

The window in your room was pushed back, supplying a cozy crevice for you to sit on. You stroked your mandible, deep in thought before brightening at an idea that lit up in your head. You were always a sucker for soft, cozy things and the ledge was looking a little bare anyway. Besides…your gaze landed on the bed…you really didn’t need three pillows. In your mind, two were enough; one for sleeping on and one for hugging.

So the third pillow was yeeted over on the ledge. You dusted your hands and fell back on the bed, a little more at home now. After Rus, you were fairly certain nothing else could bother you now. A moment passed and that moment turned into a minute, then ten, then twenty. At this point, with you laying down and doing nothing had you unlocking the secrets of the universe.

Until the sound of your name being called out along with those of a few of the house’s other occupants had you sitting up again.

Sighing, you decided alone time could wait as you shuffled down the stairs. The smell of food hit you once more and you internally wondered how on earth Blue and Papyrus could have gotten lunch ready so fast. Stuffing your hands into your pockets, you skirted down the stairs, slowing at the second level in hopes that you didn’t run into Edge again.

When you were sure the coast was clear, you flew down the last few steps and turned to the kitchen cum dining room. Most of the chairs were filled out again by the eight skeletons and you took one of the empty ones. Stretch was stretched next to you, smoking a cigarette.

“Brother, no smoking in the house! I’ve told you enough times already!” Blue reprimanded, his gaze dropping on you and he uttered your name in greeting. “How have you been so far; moving in that is?” he asked, plates in hand. He handed it over to Papyrus who passed the ceramic around. You grinned.

“It’s been great.” You replied, watching as the food was set on the table. Your metaphorical gut twisted at the sight of the lasagna. The pasta was okay; from what you learnt from Papyrus he was getting lessons and he was actually getting a little better at it. The tacos were nice too since Blue had hinted enough that he was the older brother. He obviously had to brush up on his culinary expertise if it meant feeding him and Stretch.

But the lasagna. Edge was far too prideful to ask for help or admit that it was horrible. But since you didn’t want to start an argument, you helped yourself anyway. It didn’t seem fair either since he obviously put in a lot into it.

“SO!! You’ve once again decided to let your inferior tastes be coated with the rich ambrosia that is, my lasagna?” Edge suddenly piped up, a smug smirk on his skull. You glanced down at it; it looked fine on the outside but your experiences yesterday was bad enough as it was, the very taste of it killing your taste buds. Before you could take anymore bites out of it though it had disappeared off your plate.

You wondered how.

“Uh…yeah?” You squeaked out. Another thought entered your head: was Edge even aware of how bad he was? You decided to keep it quiet though.

“Well, as much as your pathetic tastes are not deserving of such a delicacy…” You flinched. That actually stung. “…the great and terrible Edge will allow it for once!” He shoved a plateful at Red who blanched at the sight of it. With Edge’s attention turned from you, you picked up your fork, desperate to get this off your plate.

***You are filled with dread, thinking of the prospect of having to go through this again.**

You blinked; it was gone again. There was a smirk on Stretch’s skull, so you had an inkling that it was his doing. “Thanks…if it was you.” You whispered, relieved that you didn’t have to go through that torture. Stretch smiled lazily, putting out his cigar.

“Anytime.”

“YOU TRAITOR! HOW DARE YOU SAY BUTTERCUP IS THE SUPERIOR POWEPUFF GIRL! BUBBLES IS!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aw jeez, I'm sorry for the infrequent updates. I have a lot of things going on here, so I won't be able to upload the chapters as frequently as I'd want to; I'm not even that happy with how this turned out, with me still stuck at being a newbie in writing and shit. But even so, thank you all for all the love and support you have been giving me. I mean...I only posted four chapters and I'm already at 2k+ views...like...HOW?!
> 
> [My tumblr is open, inexplicably and immensely alone. Come drop by, follow me and ask questions!](https://larentia-ray09.tumblr.com/)


	6. Never trust a dog....you never know when the will steal your keys

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You also learn to never piss Black off. Well aren't you leaning new things today!

Before you retired to bed for the night, Sans had given you a set of rules to follow around the house.

You couldn’t go into the basement or the spare shed. You weren’t allowed to use the coffee in the classy looking jar. If you were having a friend over, a heads up was supposed to be sounded out. If you were going out somewhere, you needed to tell someone where just in case they needed to contact you. Housework was split and rotated, so you had to do your share. If you wanted to fight someone, you should take it outside. If you wanted to kill someone, you should keep it to yourself and stay away from sharp pointy things because sharp pointy things were b a d.

And while he was rattling all those lines, he wore that ‘look’ on his face. The same kind a parent would wear when telling a naïve, oblivious child that a chainsaw or any other object in that level of risk was dangerous and that they should never touch it again. You, of course, wanting to get on his good side kept nodding the whole way mutely till you were sure your skull would snap.

That was about it and you had asked him there were any more. He had shaken his head. “Nah, we’re good.” He had replied.

He paused midway, then glanced back at you with a tense jaw, his white eyelights crackling slightly. “Actually…there is something is still have to tell you…” He called out. You blinked and nodded mutely, turning to face him; hinting he had your attention. He watched you carefully for a second. “About the guys...if you plan on…you know, toeing the line and stepping out of these boundaries, breaking the rules I’ve set up and hurting any of them…”

His eyelights flickered out of existence and you flinched back when his smile shifted to a tense mirthless grin. “ **D o n ‘ t**.” he grated out, his tone taking on a deep, gruff edge. You felt your Soul squeeze with terror, involuntarily backing away. Sans had a terrifying side to him…who knew?

You had to remind yourself that he was just being a typical provider, looking out for his family but…

A threat was a threat.

You let out a shaky sigh, clenching the hem of your pajamas. “Was never planning on.” You muttered, frowning slightly. “It’s not like I can…you know…punch. I mean I do know how to punch and kick but they’re super weak ones—but that isn’t the point.” You cracked the tiniest smile, catching Sans a little off guard. “I see where you’re coming from and you have my word.”

He blinked slowly for a moment, then relaxed with a soft chuckle, slightly placated. He patted the top of your skull then shuffled back towards the stairs, stopping for a second to glance back at you. “G’night kid.” He said. You grinned, tuckered out from the day.

“Good night, Sans.” You had yawned back, slipping into your room and changing into your pajamas. You paused for a second, letting out a deep sigh from the day’s antics. For some reason, you always got tired faster than you were sure you weren’t supposed to be. Was this type of fatigue even normal? You tried to push that thought out of your mind.

It wasn’t like you were dying or anything.

Then you flopped onto the bed burying yourself under the blanket. In spite of the annoying fact that you could never remember your dreams or memories, you still welcomed sleep. Gripping your pillow you let out a content sigh, eyelids shutting. You didn’t fall asleep right away, rather lay there for a few seconds as you mulled over the personalities of your new skeletal roommates.

You knew a few of them didn’t trust you entirely, but that didn’t seem to stop them from being nice to you. You were glad they weren’t petty that way. Finally, you let out a deep breath, welcoming the dark void that arrived with sleep.

There were no memories this time. Just the darkness. It was suffocating and you itched to get out of there as you floated through it. You still had your physical body, the tiniest hint of white bone flashing up at you. Your voice was blocked out and muted somehow, so you couldn’t call out for help in any way while the inky black seemed to darken.

***Dark, darker yet darker.**

There was something else in your dreamscape again, though you couldn’t make out what it was. It seemed to rise and fall with the darkness, inky black mist and plasma writhing. Its features were blurred but you knew it was saying something to you, the garbled speech and static rushing through your head. You couldn’t understand it and even though it didn’t…do anything…

You were scared.

Like it didn’t belong here.

Like you didn’t belong here.

~~Well, you did drop into this place only a few days ago.~~

~~So why give yourself the right that you belong anywhere?~~

~~You don’t even remember where you’re from.~~

~~Tch.~~

~~Pathetic.~~

When you woke up the next morning, you had forgotten whatever it was you were dreaming about, only the cold chill up your spine being the only point out that it wasn’t as pleasant as the other dreams you had. You rubbed your eye-sockets groggily, sliding to your feet half asleep. After washing up and wiping your skull and hands dry, you felt a little more awake. Stumbling out your room, you shuffled down the stairs, hoping breakfast was ready, your SOUL keening for some much needed nourishment.

You paused midway, rubbing your skull in hopes you could remember something. Something that would give you a picture or a lead on who you were. But you got nothing, your mind blank. Cursing softly, you staggered down the last few flights, bony feet thudding against the cold marble.

The dining room was full again, the utter chaos that greeted you catching you off guard as what seemed to be a spatula suddenly flew out; you only had half a second to duck and when you looked to your side, you saw it had wedged itself on the wall. You glanced at the culprit; Edge and Black seemed to be in a rather heated argument while the others did their own little thing, either sipping dome coffee or munching on cereal.

Didn’t take long for you to figure out that this was normal.

“If you honestly think I’m going to stuff my mouth with another one of your inedible breakfast lasagnas—I’m afraid I can’t even call those that anymore with how you go about cooking them—you are sorely mistaken!” Black snapped, stepping away to pour himself some coffee from the machine. Edge stomped childishly, crossing his arms while he sputtered. You half wondered what stoked the argument in the first place.

“WELL, your tastes are far too inferior for my culinary expertise!” he snapped back. “It’s not like YOU do anything to help around the kitchen!”

“FOR YOUR INFORMATION, I have better things to do than cook up a half rotten meal just to prove my worth!” Black hissed, his violet eyelights crackling with intensity. “You are acting like a child! Leave me be now, I do not want to be interrupted while drinking my coffee.” Edge rolled his eyelights, turning to look at you.

“What the hell are you looking at?” he grouched, turning on his heel to face the stove again before you could stutter out a reply. You shuffled to one of the empty seats, clasping your hands together on the table while leaning forward. Blue for once, wasn’t cooking, instead drinking some orange juice. He was dressed in a tank-top and work-out shorts, hinting that he must have been jogging.

“Good morning!” He greeted. You smiled back, returning the welcome silently.

“So, uh what’s for breakfast?” You asked. Rus glanced at you, teeth twisting up.

“Burnt lasagna. Ya wan’ some?” he asked, holding out a plate of charred remains. Black muttered under his breath, sipping his coffee while he scanned a few documents that were littered on his side of the table.

“N-no thanks…” you mumbled, eyeing it with terror. You could just make out a bit of barbed wire stuck inside the mass of singed cheese and pasta sheets. “I’ll just have some…” You scanned the table, eyelights landing on a box of cereal and you squinted, reading the script. “…Temmie flakes. Yeah, Temmie flakes.”

You rose from your seat, quickly collecting a bowl and spoon in hopes you avoid Edge’s wrath then seated yourself again. Rus passed you the cereal box and the milk and you helped yourself, finally sticking your spoon into the bowl and scooping up a mouthful of the stuff.

Like always, the cereal slowly dissolved when you swallowed it.

“I can never understand why the bunch of you insist on eating that!” Papyrus pointed out, forking some cut water sausage. “It’s unhealthy for one and barely raises our HP.” You paused, staring down at the cereal. It wasn’t so bad, the underlying taste of strawberries and cream being pleasing to your tongue. Taking another spoonful, your gaze landed on Stretch, who was slouched over his chair next to Blue.

He wasn’t smoking for once, a toothpick now nestled between his teeth (Blue probably talked some sense into him) (But then again, can monsters be diagnosed with cancer? The possibilities that came with your new body were endless and you felt even more out of place now) while he reached for a bottle of honey. Unscrewing the cap, he downed the contents, draining it in one sitting.

You didn’t know whether you should be disgusted or shocked at the fact that he just drank the whole thing without batting an eyelash.

“Brother, for the love of the angel—please curb that disgusting habit of yours!” Blue chided with a huff. “We’re already short on honey as it is!” You stared at the empty bottle, then at the taller skeleton’s hoodie, half expecting the saccharine syrup to seep out of his ribs. Unsurprisingly, it didn’t and he seemed to have caught your stare.

Stretch shrugged, grinning across the table, orange gaze meeting yours. “I know you won’t _bee_ lieve me if I denied it bro, but _tibia_ honest, I can’t help myself.” He was still staring at you. “You know how I get with my sweet tooth.” Oh no, was he flirting with you?! Should you do something?! He wasn’t even addressing you directly so how could you be certain?

“Oh YOU!” Blue rolled his eyes, though his tone seemed to have some underlying affection in it. You were still staring at Stretch, skull lacking any response while you internally debated on what you should do. Stretch held you gaze for a few seconds, then looked down with a look of…discomfort? You couldn’t put your finger on it.

“So kid, what do you have planned today?” Sans abruptly asked, snapping you out of your stupor. You turned to face him, tapping your mandible.

~~The two of you were acting like he didn’t actively threaten you the previous night. Lol.~~

“Probably going to town today. I have a job request that I’m interested in and stuff…” You replied, half afraid that you might have said too much. Sans nodded wisely.

“You need someone to drop you off or…?”

“I’ll take her.” Red cut in before you could reply. He winked at you or rather, your surprised skull with inexplicable brazenness and you ducked down to look at your half-eaten bowl of cereal. “Ya don’t mind, sweetheart?” No you didn’t, and you eagerly jumped at the opportunity; especially since you had no means of getting your coccyx to the city.

“N-no, I don’t. Thanks for offering, Red.” You replied, taking another spoonful of the Temmie Flakes and chewing on it nervously. Edge didn’t seem happy though, but he chose not to voice it out.

You heard Black scoff silently and Red glanced at him, eye-sockets narrowed. You could have sworn the fluff of his hoodie seemed to stiffen up, raised to one side with annoyance and you half wished you could dive down under the table.

“What? You have something to say?” he demanded. The scarred skeleton’s purple eyelights darted to him, then down at the papers, setting his half empty mug on the wood surface. The tension in the air was thick enough to cut with a knife.

“Lecher.” Was all Black said and you started with alarm, shoveling more cereal into your mouth, your bout of stress eating returning. You watched tensely as Red’s eye-socket twitched in reply and a terrifying smile stretched across his skull. To your blatant surprise, he chuckled, settling down immediately.

“Ya’ think ya know me so well, huh ya purple prick?” he snidely stated. Black raised a brow, opening his mouth to answer back when a certain bandanna clad skeleton cleared his throat.

“Well, at least the two of you aren’t trying to kill each other anymore.” Blue declared with a light tone, rising from his seat and dusting away imaginary dirt from his hands. He shot the two of them a bright smile. “And you better not either, especially if we have a lady in our midst.”

~~Did he just subtly threaten them?~~

Red shrugged nonchalantly, leaning back against his chair, arms draped behind the backrest. He ignored Blue’s comment aiming to stare outside the window. You paused for a moment, poking at the bowl for a second. “So, how long have you guys been staying here?” you asked and the group flinched, turning to look at you. You blinked slowly for a second.

“A year at the most!” Papyrus decided after contemplating on his answer. “It’s been quite an enlightening experience too staying with all of you, if I do say so myself!” His optimistic tenor almost had you smiling.

“Torture is the correct way to phrase it, especially when it comes to living with you fucking knuckleheads.” Edge snapped, teeth drawn into a scowl. You regretted asking them that question immediately. “You’ve ended up corrupting my brother and ruining my IQ with all this sentiment!”

“Aw come on, Edge-lord. Admit it, you secretly love us.” Stretch snickered, having recovered from his unease—when, you had no clue. Edge froze, staring at Stretch with widened sockets. A scarlet blush erupted on his cheekbones and he crossed his arms, skull snapping to the side.

“LIKE?! YOU’RE DELUSIONAL, ASHTRAY!” He screeched and you found yourself cringing. Edge and Papyrus obviously had no inside voices. To emphasize his point, he slammed his fist on the table, denting the wood slightly on impact. You caught the sides of your bowl with alarm as it nearly fell of the table, rattling violently.

_CRASH!!_

A long pause ensued.

You glanced at the source; Black’s coffee mug was now shattered on the floor, the dark liquid spreading over it. Edge looked a little shocked, staring down at the mess. But that wasn’t even worth mentioning all that much at the moment. What really had your attention was the rise in magic that crackled in the air. Black was as stiff a aboard, staring down at his spilt drink.

His eyelights flickered out.

You thought the edgy skeleton’s wrath was terrifying, but he took it up a notch. He made no sound, eye-sockets now empty of the purple pinpricks it harbored. You found yourself staring at the void of darkness, and in spite of its empty appearance, you saw something dangerous writhe and snarl behind it.

Papyrus was the first to react, quickly shooting up from his seat and picking you off your chair, carrying you out of the kitchen. Edge was close after and so were the rest, Rus lagging back with an air of nonchalance.

“We better let him fume.” Sans mumbled, looking slightly shaken, though his laid back attitude hid it. “Seriously dude, was that move really necessary?” He added, glancing at Edge. The tall skeleton crossed his arms.

“You wouldn’t understand the complex web of my feelings!” He exclaimed, teeth clenching shut. This invoked a few deadpan stares and Edge seemed to start sweating nervously. His skull snapped to you still nestled in Papyrus’ arms. “YOU! You have somewhere to go, am I right?” He demanded. You flinched.

“Yeah…?” You mumbled out and Edge smartly stepped forward plucking you out of Papyrus’ grasp and tucking you under his arm like you barely weighed anything.

“Well, I do not trust my worthless brother to do his job right even if said job is escorting you to town!” Edge declared tramping up the stairs. You sent a pleading look at the skeletons, Red returning it with a nervous grimace. “RED! ARE YOU JUST GOING TO STAND THERE LIKE AN IDIOT?!” The skeleton shuffled after Edge with a half-hearted ‘comin’ boss’. You felt a pang of pity at the sight of his haggard appearance and took to struggling in Edge’s grip with hopes you escape. It was a futile attempt, the slim skeleton having you in a death hold.

The others did nothing to come to your aid.

Traitors, even if you did know them for barely three days, a little assistance could be appreciated.

“Therefore I, the great and terrible Pa-Edge shall be your chaperone! Prepare yourself, seductress, for a truly taxing experience! NYAHAHA!” He proclaimed, finally having reached the third floor. He dumped in front of your door and you let unceremonious ‘oomph’ while at it. He scanned your smaller frame. “Now get out of those scandalous clothes and FAST. I am a very busy skeleton!”

You only had a few seconds to register his words when your door was kicked open and you were pushed into your room. Taxing? How could an escort be taxing? Above all, you didn’t want him to escort you and while you did sound like a whiney brat saying that, it was the bitter truth that Edge scared you. Besides…you realized slowly as you changed into your casual wear, you had a feeling this was just an excuse to get away from Black.

“Are you done?!” Edge yelled from the other side. You squeaked. “You haven’t answered, thus I’m convinced you have either died or you’re deaf I-”

“DON’T COME IN! DON’T YOU DARE COME IN!” You screeched loudly with embarrassment quickly pulling on your green patterned sundress that you, Blue and Papyrus picked out and mutually agreed on. It stopped a little way above your kneecaps and you patted it down, changing into your brown ankle boots. You didn’t really have any shoes that went with it yet, unfortunately and you made a mental note to buy some.

Pulling out your hoodie and hanging it on your arm, you glanced at the mirror silently, finger bones clutching the beanie that was still nestled in its pocket. You had hazy memories on how you looked formerly as a human and your skeletal appearance was still off-putting. Then again, it had only been a few days since you went through this change.

Edge’s impatient knocking had you scrambling again and you opened the door, holding up your hand to stop him from breaking it down. “I’m here. Let’s go.” You said breathlessly, squeezing through the door and under his outstretched arm. Red was still standing behind him and he gave you a once over, eyelights deepening in shade. “Nice outfit, sweetheart.” He complimented.

Edge scanned you as well, but he said nothing.

You didn’t expect him to.

Once again, you were lifted up and tucked under Edge’s arm as he strode purposefully down the stairs. The others weren’t in sight and the moment he reached the bottom floor, the taller skeleton sped up. “COME ON YOU PIECE OF TRASH!” He called out to Red who hung back, grinning at you. The broad skeleton tensed, smile disappearing immediately and he scuttled after Edge.

Edge quickly darted out of the front door and made way to the black convertible, throwing you into the front seat. “Nice ride…” You whispered with sincerity, scanning the sleek design. Edge tensed at the door to the driver’s seat, squinting at you with suspicion.

“Are you trying to seduce me with compliments?!” He demanded, though a light blush dusted over his cheekbones. He looked a little flattered under all that snappiness. Your jaw almost dropped with incredulity and Red sniggered softly. “A smart move, seductress, but it will take more than to worm your way into my favor! The great and terrible Edge has very high standards!”

He held his clenched fist over his sternum and you swore his scarf began to flutter at that precise moment. Red slipped into the back, finger bones gripping the black leather. “Buckle up. Trust me sweetheart; you’re going ta need it.” He advised, pulling out the seatbelts fastened in the back. He tied them up together before fastening it then proceeded to grip the seat.

“Okay.” You replied, buckling up and clenching the smooth strip as Edge seated himself beside you, taking the wheel. He turned the key in the ignition and revved up the engine, the powerful sound of the motor ringing through the air. The taller skeleton smirked, an almost maniacal glint in his scarlet eyelights as he floored it.

_SCREEEECH!!!_

The car shot out of the compound, kicking up dirt and dust while it screeched down the street at breakneck speed. You shrank back, terror slapping you skull first. Who gave this guy his license?! What kind of idiot would give this guy his license?!

“Boss, not ta degrade yer awesomeness or anything but uh…” Red began behind you as your eye-sockets widened with terror. “…could ya fuckin’ slow down?!” You were nearly thrown off your seat at the speed Edge was driving in as he made a risky turn, the car tilting over one side. You shrieked helplessly, reaching back and grabbing Red’s sleeve for some semblance of comfort.

The wind whipped against your skull painfully and you spied a sign in the distance and you glanced at Edge. “Edge, the sign over there says the speed limit of this street is forty miles per hour!” You pointed out, voice barely carried over the wind. Edge glanced at you with boredom, teeth set tightly.

“SO???” he asked. You clenched your seat, shutting your eye-sockets. He didn’t even seem bothered by the fact that they were driving too fast for your tastes.

“You’re driving at EIGHTY, dammit!” You shrieked hysterically. Edge rolled his eyelights, speeding up instead of slowing down.

“My loyalty only lies with our King Asgore and Queen Toriel!” Edge barked. “The human government, its authority and its laws mean nothing to me.” He swerved to the right and you were internally thankful that you were still buckled in. The car travelled over a speed breaker and for a split second, the convertible was flying through the air before landing on the asphalt with a shudder.

“But the human government can still arrest us, boss!” Red wheezed, clutching your seat with absolute terror. You didn’t want to turn back and see the state he was in; the guy suffered enough already. “Have ya forgotten about the watch list they started?”

“OF COURSE NOT YOU NUMBSKULL!” The lankier skeleton replied, almost looking affronted at the fact that Red seemed to disregard his ‘greatness. If you didn’t feel so nauseous, you would have glared him down. “Besides, we won’t get into trouble with the humans! The great and terrible Edge can make sure of it!”

“Really?! How?!” You yelled, yelping when a stray branch thwacked you on the skull. You heard Red break into peals of laughter and you hunched you clavicles, trying to drown out the terror. The taller skeleton let out a dark chuckle, clawed phalanges tapping the wheel.

“SIMPLE! They can’t arrest us if they can’t catch us!” Edge smirked. You regretted asking immediately after, questioning the taller skeleton’s sanity over and over again in your mind. You heard Red groan behind you and his weight drop on his seat. Could skeletons puke? The thought entered your head again and you had a nasty feeling in the pit of your nonexistent gut that they probably could.

You glanced at the skeleton next to you again.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t drive; Edge manned the wheel well, taking care the car and its occupants weren’t thrown to the side. It was the fact that every traffic law that you could dimly remember was broken by him and quite literally stepped all over on. You didn’t know whether you wanted to be terrified of Edge’s complete disregard or terrified of dying.

Probably both.

And if fate would have it…

A dog suddenly appeared in the middle of the street.

You didn’t know how. It just blipped into existence, a tiny white Pomeranian that had a large bone between its mouth. Its beady black eyes stared at the car speeding towards it and panic flared in your ribcage when it made no attempt to get out of the way.

“Edge, STOPTHERESADOGONTHESTREET!” You yelped, the last thing you wanted on your to-do list today was running over a helpless animal, but the skeleton was a step ahead of you, foot slamming on the breaks. The car swerved a little, then screeched to a stop millimeters in front of the dog who stared at the bumper, perfectly calm. You relaxed when the nightmare came to an end, taking in a few short breaths to ease yourself.

Red leaned forward, eyelights landing on the dog.

“Hey it’s-” Red began with familiarity when he was cut off by Edge who let in a shaky breath, his eye-socket twitching.

“YOU! You meddling canine; that’s the attack you stole from me all those days ago! Return it AT ONCE!!!” he screeched, scarlet eyelights crackling with ferocious intensity. The dog let out a tiny ‘yip’ and leapt on the bonnet of the car, wiggling over the glass screen and landing square on Edge’s lap, bone and all.

It stared up at him with large black eyes and the skeleton bristled with alarm, a blush dusting over his cheekbones. The situation was hilarious, hell even adorable for a second before the dog’s furry head snapped to the side, hitting Edge with the long bone and scrambling over your lap towards the back-seat where Red was seated.

You twisted your body, watching it land on his skull and stand there for a few seconds, tail wagging a million times a second; said skeleton didn’t look very happy, eyelights blinking out of existence for a moment. Holding your hand up to your mouth to stifle back a laugh, you saw Edge reached out to swat the dog off. The Pomeranian leapt off before his boney hand could come in contact and Edge ended up whacking Red on the skull instead.

“Dude, watch it!” You hissed, flinching. Luckily it wasn’t as hard and Red shied back, glancing at the dog who was now on the seat next to him.

“Get hold of it! Don’t let it get away!” Edge screeched, scrambling to his feet and falling skull-first into the back seat. The dog dodged the onslaught, landing on his vertebral column and bounding up his back, landing on your skull and leaping off, escaping the confines of the car. It disappeared from sight soon after, materializing through a convenient parapet.

The three of you watched it dumbly and Edge let out a screech. “I almost had it, DAMMIT!” he growled, seating himself behind the wheel again. He composed himself and you watched his boney hand reach out for the ignition. “Never mind that now. I have better to do than to pursue that furry thief…” You felt Red tap your arm.

“What?” you asked, wondering what he had to say.

“Ya missin’ anythin’?” he asked softly. You checked your hoodie pockets and shook your head. Red sighed with relief when Edge’s voice carried out, catching both of you off guard.

“That MEDDLING CANINE TOOK OFF WITH THE KEYS!”

And suddenly you figured out why this escort would be ‘taxing’.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edge: Know that I am only accompanying you because I do not trust your competency, not because I am afraid of the shortstack's miserable excuse for wrath and CERTAINLY NOT because I am concerned about your well being whatsoever.  
> Freckles: Oooookkkkaaayyyy.....
> 
> Ahahaha, and here's another chapter for you guys. Thank you all for the support and kudos--I swear the lot of you are the best. My updates will still be a little funky, but hopefully I can draft out a couple of chapters before the next post so that my schedule can be a little smoother than it is now...you know...absolute chaos....
> 
> That stuff aside,
> 
> ##  **MY TUMBLR ASK BOX IS OPEN FOR QUESTIONS!**
> 
> If you guys have any questions for the gang or for the MC, Freckles, feel free to drop by and submit a questions. [My tumblr is lonely and empty.](https://larentia-ray09.tumblr.com/)

**Author's Note:**

> On semi-hiatus! I think!
> 
> ****
> 
> ## The author is questioning her life decisions.
> 
> ****


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